Breaking the Cycle
by crazypandagirl
Summary: What happens when Hylia is a bratty sister who took the credit for creating her people and forgets that she can no longer keep her angry sisters out of their land? Oh, wait a few million years, let Hyrule grow and connect to another dimension, and those sisters break into her perfect world as new Princesses. Gibbs gets to deal with a Princess who knows too much, but not everything.


Farore POV

Sitting down on my comfortable leather couch with a bottle of wine and the dregs of the bottle from last week in my glass, I settle my cold silver laptop on my lap. Opening a blank document is just too easy, after everything that I've read and dreamt. This isn't just history being rediscovered, it is a cursed soul seeking an end to the cycle. I have to write this, leave it for someone to find when this is all over, because I will soon be found out and the tests will begin once more.

_Foreword_

_The theory of reincarnation is found in religion commonly enough, but if you look closely enough at the history of our world, you will know that there are some souls that have faced the same challenges time and again, given the same names and even the same history as that of their previous lives, though with the modern era it is hard to believe that any of it could be true._

_That is why I will reference now the Royal Family of Hyrule and the history of their country all the way back to the recolonization of the Surface, now only referred to as Earth, beginning with Zelda the First and her best friend and eventual husband Knight Link. These names are only so well known because with every era where there has been a threat to all of life, there has since been a Princess Zelda and a young man named Link who becomes a Hero and her Husband. What few people have hardly cared to notice is that every one of them is born almost identical to their namesake, and they never realize until after their battles that they are simply repeating history._

_The cycle they repeatedly are forced to endure began with the Surface, and the curse that set the cycle in motion. The history of their family and these battles lasts even into today, meaning they have fought and endured for hundreds of thousands of years. But this is not a history book, because there are enough of those. This is an old soul born into the cycle that has found a way to end it when the next battle comes. Queen Zelda and King Link of Hyrule, a powerful couple ruling in peace on the other side of this world, have yet to fight their battles, but I have seen the signs that their fight is soon to come._

_Twenty-five years ago Queen Zelda gave birth to their first daughter and Heiress Princess Hylia, named for the most ancient of our Goddesses and the mortal form she took as Zelda the First. Twenty-two years ago she gave birth again, this time to triplet girls: Princess Din, Princess Lanayru, and Princess Farore, for the three Goddesses that gave life, power, and wisdom to Hylia's land. The tragedy of the Triplet Princesses has almost reached its conclusion though, a story everyone around the world knows about._

_The three were stolen from their cradles weeks before their first birthday in the dead of night, their kidnapper killing twenty guards on their way in and out for the girls. Distraught, the King and Queen ordered their law enforcers and spies to search the realm for their precious little girls, but it was all for nothing. The girls were out of the country by morning and there was no trail for them to follow._

_When the girls were ten the first of them was found hospitalized after a car crash that killed her abusive caregivers. Princess Lanayru was released for a tearful reunion with her parents and eldest sister. It gave the family hope that the other two were somehow still alive._

_On their fifteenth birthday, Princess Din was taken to a hospital after winning the International Fencing Championship hosted by the Royal Family. King Link had personally taken her for treatment by his own doctors when her helmet was removed due to noticing a strong resemblance to Princess Lanayru, and the DNA test confirmed that she was indeed one of his two missing children. The family that adopted Princess Lanayru were innocent people who took her out of a neglectful foster home, and were rewarded with a small estate in a remote location that still remains undisclosed._

_To this day, however, their youngest child, Princess Farore is still missing. After so long, some have come to believe she was killed not long after being separated from her sisters. I know, for a fact, that she is alive and well at the time this is being written, though while writing this… quite possibly well on her way to getting drunk. By the time anyone reads this, however, she plans to be long dead._

_This is not a suicide letter, I promise, but what I hope will be the end to a cycle._

_The cycle the triplets were born into has only occurred once before in all of the history of the Royal Family. There were once the four princesses named for the Goddesses twenty thousand years ago. The Princess Hylia of that time was the only surviving child of the four, while the fate of the triplets is known only to those of the Royal Family, passed down in the oral tradition or only seen on an ancient tapestry hidden deep within Hyrule Castle._

_I happen to know now that reincarnation is more of a curse than a gift, because my sleep is now haunted by the life of the last Princess Farore. I know exactly how her two sisters died and what her fate was, and the curse she removed from their very __**souls**__ and solely onto her own. What most would think is that she died with her sisters, and in a way they would be right._

_Remember that cycle I mentioned earlier, from the recolonization of the Surface? The… Demon that set this all in motion was not sealed as perfectly as they would have wished, and his soul was reborn into the man that would repeatedly bring death and destruction to this world, always the only boy ever born to the Gerudo who rule the desert of Hyrule, and always seeking to destroy the Royal Family. Ganondorf, or Ganon as he is always referred to, was the reincarnation of the Demon named Demise._

_In the time of the last triplet princesses, he only made his appearance when the girls were nearly eleven years old. But this time he was cunning, knowledgeable, and powerful as ever._

_Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself now. All of this seems fantastic and unreal, even to me, but these tales we now call bedtime stories were facts of history. Every time Ganon was defeated, the story always became a bedtime story told by senile elders minding the children._

_I guess, after writing all of this, if you wish to know the story of these ancient princesses and maybe even believe all of this, then be warned that these stories are not the happiest. Know that by the time you've picked up this book, that the Princess Farore of this era is going to be long gone from this world._

I take a deep breath to stop the world from swirling all around me. Maybe having this much wine isn't such a good idea when I'm trying to write out ancient history, but this might be the only way I can bring myself to do it.

_Part 1: Princess Din_

_The eldest of the triplet princesses, so named for Din, the Goddess of Power. _

_The name references to the well-known Triforce of Power, one of three that makes up the greater whole._

_With the lacking presence of Ganon in their lives, and with a wish to honor the Goddess whose gift has always been abused by Ganon from the start, the King and Queen named the first of their triplets Din. From the moment of her birth, they knew she would be a powerful young woman one day. She was the largest, strongest, and most vocal of the three, always the first of them to draw the attention of their parents when they needed anything. She was also the first to display the magical ability of her bloodline, producing sparks a month after her birth, and flames six months later._

_Like the Goddess she was named for, Princess Din drew the attention of all she met, captivating them before she could ever even speak. Her power was obvious to all from the start, and it drew the attention of unsavory characters within the court._

_Jealous of the hold the young girl had over the people the nobles lorded over, they arranged for her kidnapping shortly before her first birthday (the reason for the kidnapping of her sisters will be explored in their individual stories)._

_Taken from her cradle and separated from the sisters she shared the womb with, Din was taken to the desert beyond Gerudo territory, left to be raised by slavers. She was weak due to her age, and the slavers only kept her because of the potential buyers for young slaves that could be trained for a single purpose in life. Ironically, she was sold at two years of age to a noble in the City of Blood, a man famous for his child slaves becoming fearless warriors through torturous training from the moment he bought them._

_He knew she was a natural when she finally mastered walking under his servants' care, ordering her to join the newly purchased slaves for training in his battle rings, now referred to as Gladiator Pits. For the first three years of her training, she improved nearly too fast, beating all the other slaves effortlessly. It drew her owner's attention at this point, and he ordered her to train with the next age group, only to find himself with this same issue only days later. She had become too proficient, too good, for mere training and teaching, for there was nothing more his finest warriors could teach when it came to the art of the blade._

_Wondering if she would be as good in in a show as she was in training, he put her into her first match at age six against a boy eight years old, the age he began to put them in these matches. The poor boy, the best of his age, was no match for her. Din struck hard and fast, and before they all knew it he lay dead in the ring, his blood staining her blade, skin, and soul._

_She became famous nearly overnight in the City of Blood, and over the next two years she became known as the Princess of Blood, never knowing that she was the missing Princess Din of Hyrule and never identified because she hid her gift of Power as skill and stamina in combat._

_Her owner grew ridiculously rich from the bets on her fights, and she was shown obvious favor with giving her only the best of everything he had to offer. At nine years of age, word finally reached Hyrule that there was a child warrior of unmatched skill that the undefeated King Link quickly grew curious over. Queen Zelda, pitying the child and hoping that she would be more than a soulless shell of a child by the time the rumors were confirmed when Din was ten, sent King Link and her finest Knights on a diplomacy mission to the city under the pretense of possible trade between the City of Blood and Hyrule, using the Gerudo as their traders as the best and most efficient travelers of their desert._

_The night the King arrived there was a grand feast to which the owner brought his best fighters to his very own table, dressed in the best silks in the world and with the most expensive jewelry he could gift them. Din was silent when the noble presented her to the King, displaying the perfect manners and all the grace of the perfect lady and the power of the greatest warrior. King Link was intrigued by this child, one of the few Hylians in the city but by no means the only one enslaved, and swore that there was something drawing him to her. He only realized as he went to bed her body was unmarked by the scars of her fellows, all of them having shown quite a bit of skin in their silk desert clothes no matter their age and gender._

_The next morning was the day of the fights the noble scheduled for the King to finally witness, and he was terrified by what he would be forced to see children partake in. Before he could sleep though, Din slipped into his room, still in her evening wear but lacking the jewelry around her neck and wrists. She whispered to him of the rebellion the children had planned, for they were tired of training and killing one another day after day. She was tired of everything and wished for a way back to Hyrule to find her family, but they needed his help if they were to pull it off successfully._

_He promised his support, for she was one of his people and knew all of the best warriors he had seen that night were also his subjects. She led him to where his knights were preparing for the night through the servant passages, lighting the way with a ball of fire in her palm. Only then did he realize that she, the famous Princess of Blood, was one of this three missing daughters. He whispered her name and it stopped her heart for all of a second, because she knew his voice whispering that name from the oldest of her memories._

_It was for that reason the knights swore their allegiance to this uprising, for they could never condone the enslavement of their Royal Family, and the noble had just been found guilty of treason for not reporting that he had their Princess, let alone training her to kill for his own gain._

_The morning arrived and she was the first to enter the Pit, watched by the worried King and self-assured and already drunk noble. The knights were not invited to the same luxurious balcony of the Pit, and were hidden among the people entering to watch the fights, slipping away to slowly take down the guards not loyal to the uprising and to free and arm the still-caged warriors._

_Following their plan, Din was the first one to step into the daylight, clothed in black leather only enough for modesty's sake on her chest and leather trousers with one leg exposed to the air and the other long enough to vanish into her boot. War paint stained her skin the colors of fire and sheathed daggers clinging to her bare leg._

_The drunken noble only then noticed something was wrong, because he never bothered to purchase war paint. By then it was too late, for she had turned to stare up at him and flashed her favorite dagger in the sunlight towards the tunnel of her opponent. Warriors poured out into the audience, cutting down as many as they could reach with their blades for supporting the death of children and the guards who would enforce their acts._

_Blood flowed through the gutters by sundown, and the children were victorious, leaving over five hundred dead, fifty of the fallen of their own numbers. King Link had personally ensured the noble was not too badly harmed, for he had a trial to attend and a public execution to participate in. Princess Din, covered in blood not her own, was walking through the city to give the mercy of death to the dying children who were too injured to survive the night when he finally caught up with her._

_A quote lasting to this day, inscribed on her tomb, are these words: 'To die free is all we ever asked for. This is the only gift I can give.'_

I wipe the tears from my eyes, remembering her writing this story in an old dialect when she was thirteen years old. It was used as a warning against slavers who dealt in children, especially to those who sold them into lives such as hers.

_Together, they burnt the dead enemies and buried the fallen warriors in a mass grave, marked today in the City of Blood with a marble tombstone for the unnamed slaves. After a long week, the Gerudo finally took over the city which had lost a third of its population in less than a day, a city they had hoped would one day fall in such a manner. With the women of the Gerudo taking control, King Link took the fallen noble, his daughter, and all the freed slaves who wished to make their way in Hyrule home with him._

_The trial was fast, and the noble was stripped of his name in short order thanks to the witnesses to his activities spanning over two decades. The oldest witness was barely fourteen years old, but shared the stories of those who would have been thirty had they not died in their fights, tales passed down when those poor souls had given up and knew they would be the one to fall in their next fight._

_Queen Zelda was overjoyed to see the end of the trial and wept when she could finally hold the eldest of her triplets once more. Princess Din, after being announced as having finally been returned to her rightful place, never forgot or forgave what had happened, and was thankful that she had used her gift of Power so carelessly when she had._

I breathe heavily, wiping my eyes once more before saving the document and closing the laptop. I don't think I can handle any more of this tonight, and I'll have a bad enough hangover tomorrow from drinking almost another whole bottle of wine in one night. Gods, I hope Gibbs doesn't call with a case tomorrow. I can't go to work hungover or thinking of this.

* * *

I walk into the bullpen with sunglasses still over my contact-altered stormy blue eyes, whereas they would normally be the tell-tale sky blue of the Royal Family. Nobody knows that my eyes are not the color I show them as, and I plan to keep it that way.

Tony grins as I sit in the desk next to Tim's. "Rough weekend?" he asks brightly.

"Rough Saturday Tony," I wince, sipping at my coffee as I unwind my scarf from around my neck and shrug off my coat.

He whistles lowly. "Damn, party too hard?"

"Drinking does not mean partying Tony," I growl, sipping at the heavenly brew in my coffee cup. "If you must know, I was drinking because I needed the liquid courage."

"For what?" he asks, frowning worriedly at me.

I glare up at him and pull off my sunglasses. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"What don't we need to worry about Ro?" Gibbs asks, stalking over behind Tony.

I roll my eyes and swivel my chair around so I don't have to look at them, turning on my computer. "Why I needed liquid courage on Saturday," I answer casually.

I can almost feel Gibbs staring at me. "You look like hell," he comments, silently demanding an explanation.

"I needed a lot of it."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for," Gibbs growls, coming to stand next to my desk.

I look up at him tiredly. "Gibbs, this isn't something I want to talk about."

"You don't need liquid courage for a night holed up in your apartment," Tony murmurs.

I shift my gaze back to my computer. "I have paperwork to do," I inform them, hoping they take the hint. I can't tell them anything, not yet, but maybe when things happen… maybe then I can tell them. Maybe I can tell someone the truth before I go.

* * *

_Part 2: Princess Lanayru_

_The second born of the triplet princesses, so named for Lanayru, the Goddess of Wisdom and often referred to as Nayru. _

_The name references to the well-known Triforce of Wisdom, one of three that makes up the greater whole alongside Power and Courage. It is also sadly known that Wisdom and Courage have had to stand against Power, a Zelda and a Link standing against Ganon._

_The second of the triplets was always the quiet one of the triplets, the one that preferred the company of her direct family. She particularly loved listening to her mother's voice, so Queen Zelda would often take her daughter to her office and read her letters aloud to the child. With her sweet personality and love of the written word, it was no surprise that she might become the brains of any operation._

_She showed all the signs of higher intelligence from such a young age that many nobles with children older than her grew furious with their own offspring, who preferred to play rather than learn. Surprisingly enough, it was not a noble who wished for Princess Lanayru's abduction, but rather a wealthy merchant from Snowpeak Mountain, near Zora's Domain. He paid the kidnapper a hefty sum for the deed, and got the young Princess in short order._

_He did not count on how smart she would turn out to be, but he came to love her as his own, going so far as to give her the nickname Nayru, knowing it to be a popular name for girls in his own childhood. He nurtured her genius, showering her with books full of history and the magic that so few believe in outside of Hyrule these days. When she was seven, he died and left all he had to her, including his business that he hoped she would be willing to find someone to take over once she was old enough for the maid to return her to her rightful family._

_When Lanayru was eight years old, the house was attacked by bandits who burned her home to the ground and took her and the maid prisoner. There was only enough time for her maid to save the one letter containing the merchant's confession and apology before they were forced to flee the house. They were dragged around by the cruel bandits for months before the Royal Guard caught up with them in Hyrule Field on their way to Kakariko Village, where they were known to fail in their raids every summer without fail._

_Finally freed, the maid gave the wrinkled and torn letter to her charge on her deathbed, too weak to carry on after all the beatings she had taken, both her own and most of Lanayru's, though the girl had suffered through a fair share of her own beatings. The letter broke her heart, but she knew that the merchant was not her real father, for he had told her when she was four that he had adopted her. The confession was more than she could bear, so she kept the letter hidden in her pillow so the shaman of the village wouldn't know her terrible secret. She spent many hours of the next two years in the Spring of Power, knowing it wasn't the Spring of Wisdom she so desperately needed to see, but making do with the touch of the Goddess of her beloved, but unfamiliar elder sister._

_The shaman was cleaning up his house one day while she was assisting his wife with the cooking shortly after the celebration of Princess Din's return to Hyrule and was surprised to hear a paper crinkle in the pillow as he went to fluff it. Upon reading the letter, he immediately took his newfound information to the local Knights, who were just settling down for dinner at the inn. _

_Alarmed by the contents, they sent their fastest rider for Hyrule Castle without bothering to eat dinner, praying that the Royal Family would be able to come out to the Village to confirm the strange Nayru's identity. The maids were forced to wake the King and Queen near midnight when the exhausted Knight finally arrived, only able to say that the news was unbelievable and urgent._

_The King and Queen, overwhelmed by the news of their next youngest child had been found so soon after Din, prepared to depart all the following day, sending a messenger ahead to prepare the inn for their stay. When Din and Hylia learned of the possibility of one of their sisters being found so near to Hyrule Castle, they demanded to join the party in their travels to see for themselves. Queen Zelda could not deny her children, even though she and King Link feared that this could be a hoax. How could they not? It was simply so close to the return of Din that someone hoped to gain prestige with a child similar in age and appearance to present, or their enemies giving them false hope through an elaborate ruse._

_They arrived just after noon to find a small child kneeling in the middle of the Spring, apparently deep in prayer or thought without a care for the water soaking her obviously old clothing. The shaman met with the desperate family in his small home, showing them the letter he had found hidden in Nayru's pillow. His wife only then recalled that she must have been grieving over this ever since her rescue, and was possibly ashamed to have felt so much for her kidnapper._

_Queen Zelda was the one who approached the girl still in the Spring, though she was now sitting at the water's edge, only her bare feet submerged in the blessed water. Grateful to still be wearing her traveling clothes, she sat next to the silent child and tried to engage her in conversation, avoiding all mention of the letter._

_When she called the girl Nayru, the young princess admitted that she knew the Queen was her real mother, and was scared that she would lose the chance of her family's love for wanting to go back to the way things were before the bandits. It broke Queen Zelda's heart, but after knowing what kind of life one of her children had suffered, she was able to admit that she would have preferred her to forever live with the man who had stolen her for his own loving home than the cruel and heartless life Lanayru's sister had been forced to endure for most of her life._

_She returned to the small house with her mother and was simply glad to find that two of her sisters and her father couldn't care less that she had lived such a good life after being kidnapped. The next day, she returned to Hyrule Castle with her parents, and watched the celebrations for her return from a distance, happy to be back in a place where she could see how much she was loved and wanted._

_Shortly after her return, she begged for a trip to Lake Hylia, where she was finally able to give her prayers at the Spring of Wisdom to her patron Goddess. What wounds the Spring of Power couldn't heal were finally fixed, and she was able to fully access the powers of her mother's blood. Lanayru was forever studying once she accessed her power, and desperate to find her last sister, much like her parents and two elder sisters._

_Not long after her death, the Hyrule Castle Library gained an inscription above the entrance: 'Wisdom is nothing without the Courage to seek and the Power to accept.' It was something she whispered in exhaustion to her sisters before bed, Hylia included. Princess Hylia's tomb has the inscription of her reply: 'Power, Wisdom, and Courage are lost when apart, and they are my world when brought together.'_

I smile when I think of Lanayru's story. She had a decent life without the trauma and horror Din experienced then or that today's Princess Lanayru has endured. She was loved by not only her own parents, but also by a man who had taken her out of spite and learned to love – talk about a parent-child edition of Beauty and the Beast. If only all three could have had her life, in their time and in this. It must be a part of the cycle that forces us to suffer through pain and heartbreak.

* * *

"What are you researching Hyrule for?" Tim asks, leaning back to look at my monitor.

I minimize the tab instantly. "Nothing, just legends. I thought there was a reference the Petty Officer made in interrogation last night, but I couldn't find anything."

"Then why'd you close the tab?" he asks, and now I feel like I'm being interrogated.

I glare at him. "It was a stupid theory McGee, let it go." I turn to my screen once more and open the file on the dead Navy Lieutenant Colin Smith. "He was Hylian, just like the victim."

"You're a Hylian too," he points out. "Maybe you're looking too deeply into this?"

I shake my head. "I think I was too McGee, that's why I closed the tab. I was simply thinking there would be something of use in history, since that was what he was studying. And if you know Hylians, you know the legends are how we passed on our history in the oral tradition to the illiterate for hundreds of thousands of years almost perfectly intact."

"I still don't know how that could be possible," Tony complains, walking over to sit on the edge of Tim's desk to join the conversation. "There had to be forgotten details somewhere along the way."

I smile indulgently at my childish coworker. "We're a strange people Tony, I thought you knew that already."

"Well, things just got stranger Ro," Gibbs tells us, dropping a file in front of me. "Abby just printed this document from Vaggus's computer and can't figure out how to make it readable."

I open the file to find the familiar script any respectable Hylian would be well-versed in. "You're lucky you have a smart Hylian around here Gibbs, this is the Twilight Dialect," I announce easily, looking up to find them all expressing varying degrees of shock. I roll my eyes. "Come on, I know the Time Dialect and the Flood Dialect just as well as this one and the Modern Dialect. You can't pass a certain age without at least passively learning the Twilight Dialect in Ordon, and you know I grew up there before we moved to America. They teach you Twilight right alongside Modern as a tribute to the Twilight Realm."

"So translate it for us," Abby orders me, and I look up at the stairs behind Tim and Tony to find her staring down at me.

"McGee, could you type as I talk?" I ask, folding back the file to read the document more easily.

"Sure," he agrees instantly.

I clear my throat before I start talking. _"I'm suspicious of what could have happened to the princesses, and I have a feeling Jace knows someone who was involved in that whole mess. I may be part of the American military, but I'm a Hylian first and foremost, and I'm loyal to the Royal Family's safety when that is being threatened. Jace worries me sometimes when he sees any news about the Royal Family. He gets this look on his face, like he's smelling something rotten or is looking at something utterly disgusting. It scares me that he would ever express himself in such a way at the mere mention of them. Last month was particularly terrifying, and I drank myself under the table when I got home because of it. We were leaving the bar when we heard someone talking about another dead end in the search for Princess Farore, and he got this pleased look on his face, almost smug I would say. Why would the idea of the Princess remaining missing and possibly even being dead be so pleasing to him? I don't even want to think about any of this anymore, and I'm afraid that I'm going to have something more dropped on me if I stick around. What if he realizes I'm loyal to the Royal Family and figures out I'm willing to do almost anything to find the Princess and get her home safely? Would he kill me to keep his schemes hidden?"_ I shiver slightly, suddenly fearing that he may have been onto me. I flip to another page. _"I swear I could have watched Princess Lanayru walk into Starbucks this morning, but any Hylian would know the Hylian girl I saw wasn't part of the Royal Family. She may have had some similarities, but her eyes were the wrong shade of blue to be of Royal blood, let alone her hair. That or I'm just obsessing because of Jace. He walked in as she was sitting down to wait for her order, and when he saw her he got this angry but satisfied look on his face. He's only ever been like that recently at any mention of Princess Farore… maybe she resembles what we all hope she might look like if she is indeed alive. By the Goddesses I hope Farore is alive somewhere, safe and loved if at all possible. I should take my suspicions to someone who can investigate Jace, because I'm beginning to fear for any Hylian with any resemblance to the Royal Family. I fear he's going to do something he can't walk away from, and I'm fearing every day that I may not be alive at the end of this."_

I'm glad to be looking down at my desk as I read aloud, because I can almost feel the blood draining from my face. "Did we just find out who is responsible for kidnapping Princess Farore?" Tim asks in disbelief.

I can hear Gibbs slowly rising as I pull myself back together. "I'll talk to Vance, see if he can get someone from the embassy here. McGee, DiNozzo, get back in there with Petty Officer Jinks and see what you can get out of him."

I look at the next line, suddenly glad nobody else in the building can read this dialect. _The barista called her Fae Ro. I hope I can warn her if she's a regular here and turns up around this time tomorrow._

"Ro, find out anything important from those papers then go home," Gibbs calls down from the landing next to Abby.

I turn to look up at him, frowning for a moment as he halts to stare down at me before I nod in assent. "I can get it done fairly quickly," I answer, turning back to the paper and pulling out a blank notebook to begin taking notes.

I'll just leave the mention of my name until the end, for a single line on the back of the paper. I just hope nobody thinks to mention it until I can get in to talk to Jinks.

* * *

_Part 3: Princess Farore_

_The last of the triplet princesses and the final child of King Link and Queen Zelda, named for Farore, the Goddess of Courage and King Link's patron._

_The name references the last piece of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage._

_Where her elder sisters were shy or overly excited when it came to encountering new people up close, Princess Farore was the most outgoing and happiest to meet new people. Because of this, she was also quite happy to be in the presence of the Knights and Royal Guard when King Link would go to the training yards to oversee the training. The men were wrapped around her little finger when the infant was old enough to be separated from her sisters and mother for an extended period of time. She was even gifted with weapons from the best blacksmith and a shield to match her father's, for they could all sense she would be the enforcer of the triplets._

_Even to the Royal Family of today, there is no known reason why anyone wanted to kidnap this princess except to complete the crime by taking all three children. I suspect the kidnapper had something against the Family and hoped to see some kind of profit aside from the gold he had already collected. The man snuck out of Hyrule Castle with the sleeping children tucked into slings and left a trail of death only to be found by the maids early the next morning. As was just mentioned, there was no known reason for her abduction, so when Din and Lanayru were handed off to their new captors, the man made his getaway as fast as he could to the south._

_There is very little to be known about the kind of life Princess Farore led after her kidnapping, but in her diaries she wove a tale of the mythical Kokiri living deep within the Lost Woods of the Faron Province. She never knew of her origins, but she knew she was different because there was no fairy that became her guardian. The eternal children taught her the basic arts of the blade when she reached the age of five, when she began to grow curious about the woods she lived in. Had they been able to assure Farore's safety they would never have bothered to teach her to wield a blade, but there were, and still are, carnivorous plants hidden there from the Twilight Era. The evil was never fully cleansed from the Lost Woods, and so they had to know how to beat it back as these plants, variants of the ancient Deku Babas, continued to regenerate._

_When she was seven years old, she was able to navigate the Lost Woods with ease, despite being born outside of the province. Her guardians allowed her to venture from the Woods with her blade in hand, but could not accompany her without dying the moment they stepped foot outside of their home._

_Clothed in a green tunic like the Hero of Time, emerging from the Lost Woods, she wandered further south until she came to Ordon Spring, now known as the Spring of Unity. Their mayor found her on one of her outings and invited her to Ordon Village, hoping to learn her name and how she came to their remote corner of the kingdom alone._

_Without knowing her own name, having only been called Little Hylian by the Kokiri, they called her Linkle in honor of the Hero in green. The irony was that they came to the conclusion that the eternal cycle of the Hero and the Goddess might have ended and that she was to be the last embodiment of the Hero. Not to mention she loved the old tree house that once belonged to the Hero of Twilight, little more than ruins now but forever marked by the magic of the Triforce as one of his only-known homes. She could tame the oxen at the ranch in a way the rancher could not, having some deeper connection to the very life of the region – another sign to the villagers that she could be a reincarnation of the Hero._

_Their mayor would walk her to Faron Spring after each of her visits, where she would make her prayers to the light spirit Faron before giving prayers to Farore. By the end of her prayers, she knew her watcher would have been long gone in order to close the bridge at twilight. By dark, she would be back in the Lost Woods finishing her supper with the Kokiri. It was a ritual they kept up until the triplets were four months from turning eleven._

_The Royal Family decided to tour the realm and meet more of their people than those in Castle Town, particularly the cities in the furthest reaches that could only give their gifts by messenger once every year. Naturally, the last province they toured was Ordon, though they had to leave much of their entourage back in Faron Woods. The celebration was small at noon when Farore arrived to tend to the animals at the ranch, and she would have been able to pass through unnoticed if not for the mayor's keen ability to always know where she was in his little town._

_The King and Queen were curious about the dirty little scrap of a girl, delicate for all intents and purposes, but clearly stronger than she looked if she could be left alone on the ranch with such large beasts. King Link followed the little girl up to the ranch when the afternoon sun was not too far off from twilight, only to be shocked by the sight that greeted him._

_A little girl, with little muscle and no fat on her body, holding a short sword and winning in a desperate fight against goblins, five of them already dead and four of them trying to harm her. He leapt to her aid, killing two of them as she killed the others before he could even get a better look at her._

_Horrified that there was an attack so close to his family and that none of them would have known, he offered his deepest thanks to her. But it fell on deaf ears when she turned and ran away as though the hounds of hell were after her. Everyone in the village tried to stop her, but she was simply too fast and all feared to be struck accidentally by the sword stained with black blood. King Link was the only one able to continue following her into Faron Woods, where he found one of the younger Knights restraining her as his elder fellows finished fighting even more goblins._

_He questioned her gently, but she would only look deeper into the woods, fearing for the Kokiri who had raised her. Without getting his answers even long after night had fallen, he ordered for her to be released, but took his best Knights and followed her. They were quickly turned around in the Lost Woods, trying to follow her but only catching illusions in the mist. Then they were found by a young fairy named Navi, who recognized the soul of her old friend Link, the Hero of Time, in the King Link before her. She guided them through the woods, back to a path before they could get closer to their unknown destination._

_They entered the little Kokiri village to find a glowing golden wolf pouncing on the little girl, knocking her to the ground as he vanished into her body like a spirit. Recognizing the wolf from stories of the Twilight Era, the King and Knights were on guard as they waited for the girl to return to consciousness, even as suspicious Kokiri eyes watched from the doorways of their darkened homes._

_Upon reawakening moments later, she rose to greet them distantly, clearly unhappy with the interference of Navi but unable to do anything about it. She silently led them back into the Lost Woods and took them deeper than the protected village, taking them to the ruins of the Temple of Time and the resting place of the Sword of Evil's Bane. It was there that they stopped, realizing that the tales of old were coming true, for only those invited by the Hero could ever find the resting place if not led there by one of the Kokiri guardians._

'_Here is what you seek, for without this blade of light in the hand of Farore's Champion there will forever be darkness wrought by Din's fallen King.' A well-known and feared phrase for those familiar with the wall built around Faron Woods, carved into the stone over the only doorway granting passage to most of Faron Province. This is the only form of memorial left of Princess Farore, with all other mementos of her life either lost to time or destroyed for a very good reason._

_King Link could only hope the lost girl would find her way home when the mist hid her from view, certain that his last daughter had been claimed by the forest. When he and his knights opened their eyes, it was morning and they were in their bedrolls at the camp by Faron Spring. They were surprised, however, when King Link found Princess Farore waiting for him in the spring, sitting on the ledge of the upper pool and soaked in the blessed water._

_Thus, she was freed of the forest she called home for the past decade and returned to Hyrule Castle at last._

My phone rings, and I hurry with the last line before saving and closing the document. "Agent Ro," I greet, blinking away the dizziness of the alcohol.

"_Where are you?"_ Gibbs asks breathlessly, wind blowing in the microphone as he clearly rushes around.

I frown in confusion. "I'm at my apartment, where else would I be?"

"_Jace Jinks is after you, his lawyer got him out before we could use your translation. What's your condition?"_

I sigh and shut my laptop, forcing a shutdown and hiding it between the cushion and the armrest. "I've had a little bit to drink," I admit freely. "I'm prepped for him Gibbs, I promise." I rise to turn off the lights, grabbing the sword and dagger from under the bar counter and holstering my gun to my fluffy pajama shorts, dagger sheath tied to my thigh and sword ready in hand. "How long ago was he released?"

A car door slams shut in the background and he orders Tony to drive. _"Forty minutes ago, we've got a BOLO out on him but he's bound to be at your place anytime now."_

"Shh," I whisper, hearing someone right outside my door. "He's here, I'll leave it on speaker and mute." I press the right buttons and hide in the pitch-black hallway, sword at the ready as yellow light spills into the faintly moonlit living room, my front door forced open with a kick that ruins both the door and the wall.

"My little Ro, where are you~?" Jinks sing-songs sweetly, a click indicating he's armed with a gun, a slight gliding sound of metal on leather indicating at least a blade with that. "I know you're in here little one." I keep my mouth firmly shut, my breathing shallow and silent as I hold my body still. "I'm amazed you didn't question me yourself little one. After all, we have so much history. I know your secrets, I know your past, and yet even those you trust the most still know nothing about you. Do you not trust these silly Agents?"

He steps closer to my hiding place, eyes not yet adjusted to the dark due to leaving the door open and the moon casting eerie shadows in my apartment.

"Let's make this all easier and you come out of hiding little one? I just want to talk," he croons, an edge of impatience dampening the false sweetness of his tone. He swings his blade at the shadows under the bar, across from my hiding place, but he still can't see me as I turn my blade, ready to hit him with the flat of my sword. "Don't you want to know why my father took you? Why he tortured you for so long before my coward of a mother took you and ran?" he snarls, spinning around wildly before noticing my phone out on the coffee table, face down but with the screen light bleeding around the edge of the device. "Where are you little coward?!" he shouts angrily.

I swing the sword right as he turns around, smacking him soundly in the temple and knocking him out instantly. "Right behind you, ya dumb shit," I growl, kicking him in the balls before I pick up the phone once more and turning off the mute setting. "Don't believe everything you hear Gibbs. I'm calling an ambulance." I end the call before he can get a word in before turning to my purse, pulling out the handcuffs and tightening one set around his wrists before linking the second to the chain and to the heavy oak coffee table. I slip into my room and grab the length of rope I've been meaning to get rid of and tie it around his ankles before winding it around his legs to wrap around his wrists, ensuring wriggling will be a painful affair with how tightly I wrap him up.

With that done, and the ambulance summoned, I sit on my couch to wait for someone to arrive at my open door in the dark, his weapons displayed on the bar and my sword levelled at his neck. If he moves, he may just stab himself, and I couldn't care less about needing to clean up the blood if he does.

Gibbs, Tony, and Tim arrive first, pushing the door fully open from where it must have bounced nearly closed after the forced opening, guns raised as they stare into my dark living room. "Ro?" Gibbs asks sternly, clearly not seeing me almost straight ahead.

"Light switch to the left Tony," I inform them softly, not looking away from my attacker.

The lights flash on and I earn a wolf whistle from Tony. "Damn," he murmurs, holstering his gun as he crouches to check on Jinks.

Gibbs approaches from my other side with an unreadable expression on his face when I lift my sword. "You okay?" he asks after a long moment.

"Perfectly fine Gibbs." I look up at him, carefully keeping my expression blank. "If you've got a question, ask it."

"What did he mean when he said his father tortured you?"

I roll my eyes. "The drunken old bastard. He was a decent man and a passable father when he was sober, but he hated me when he was drunk. Would beat the shit out of me for anything, and he encouraged Jace to beat me whenever he got the chance. I was six when his mother worked up the nerve to run away from Ordon and divorce him, adopting me in the process and leaving behind his little psychopath."

"Is that why you tried staying away from this case?" he asks sternly.

I look away from him with a nod. "Director Vance knew and that's why he ordered me benched, so I wouldn't have to tell you why I couldn't work the case."

"Fae…" Tim starts softly.

"I'm over it McGee, have been for a long time." I rise from my seat and stalk past Tony unwinding my captive and into the kitchen, getting myself a glass of water. "Gods, I hate this," I whisper to myself.

* * *

_Part 4: The Curse_

_On the night of their kidnapping, there was little known about who actually stole the triplets. There are many theories of who it might have been: a mercenary, a rogue soldier, a foreign spy, even a Hylian spy gone rogue. Nobody is quite sure of who did the deed, but what was known about them is that they had an ancient power behind them, one that drove a primal fear through any with the gift of magic when the search for the Princesses commenced._

_Queen Zelda was rumored to have been the bearer of the Goddess Hylia's soul, just like her namesakes from the time of recolonization. In a diary widely available to be read online, she noted a foul, evil presence that should have been impossible was staining her daughters' cribs. She thought it was the last they would see of the owner of that magic, but King Link felt otherwise and began to research the history of the Royal Family. There were references to every Zelda of the past instinctively knowing the presence of Ganon, but this feeling his Queen described was far more ancient than Ganon, almost a predecessor._

_The events that triggered the recolonization of the Surface by the Hylians of Skyloft were a terrible stain on the history of Earth, but the full story was kept as the ultimate secret from most of the inhabitants of Skyloft. The recolonization only occurred because the events that forced their ancestors a millennium ago to flee were finally put to an end._

_The Demon I previously mentioned, Demise, brought forth a foul army from the darkest depths of Hell, raiding Hylia's Realm and slaughtering all those in their path. There were no survivors even in the first attacks, and the people prayed to Hylia for hope and safety. So she descended to the Surface, fighting among those brave enough to fight back while evacuating all those she could to a section of land. What was once a realm populated by thousands was reduced to hundreds in days, and the casualties would have ended all human and Hylian life. Using her magic, she sent the land with the last of her people high into the sky, far beyond the reach of Demise before staging the final battle against this Demon. She sealed him away, and with the last of her strength gave up her immortal body to be reborn among her people on Skyloft, knowing that one day she would descend with her reborn champion to end the battle._

_Zelda the First was born to the headmaster of the Knight Academy and the best friend of Link, an orphaned boy whose father had once been a great knight and his mother a healer who died from an outbreak of an unknown disease that nearly claimed Zelda's life when they were children. They lived in the Academy until the day another Demon Lord, Ghirahim, sent a storm above the cloud barrier to bring down the Spirit Maiden, Hylia in mortal form: Zelda._

_Link followed soon after, having barely recovered from the injuries sustained when trying to catch Zelda in the storm and armed with the Goddess Sword. He was always fairly close to Zelda, catching up in the Spring of Power after a Sheikah named Impa had to rescue her from Ghirahim's Bokoblin army after they captured her outside the Temple and imprisoned her deep within. It didn't take long for him to catch up to the two yet again in the original Temple of Time deep in the desert that was the Lanayru Province. They were forced to leave Link behind to handle Ghirahim alone so that Zelda would be safe in the days just after Demise was sealed away._

_Through many trials, and much heartache, Link finally restored the blade to its true power as the Master Sword, having received a blessing from Zelda before she trapped herself in a sleep that would last as long as Demise could still be freed. Following her orders, he returned to Skyloft to end Demise in the search for the Triforce, hidden right under their noses all this time within the Statue of the Goddess they all looked upon every day of their lives._

_Little information survived on the trials faced to claim the Triforce, but it is known that Link was forced to enter a portal to an alternate plane of existence to fight against a revived Demise in the past, winning and sealing away Demise. However, before the Demon could die, he bestowed a curse on the soul of the Hero and the blood of the Goddess, enacting a cycle of reincarnation for the three of them for all eternity._

_One little fact that was overlooked is what happened to Ghirahim. It is understood that there is a spirit within the Master Sword, dormant for the purpose of sealing away Demise in his purest form. As it happens, one scrap of knowledge identifies Ghirahim as not just a supposed Demon Lord, but rather the spirit of Demise's own blade. There was nothing to indicate that Ghirahim's sword form was absorbed into the Master Sword with his master, so that begs the question of just what happened to him?_

_Fast forward to the King's research after the kidnapping of his daughters, and he finds a mention of these Demons and how Zelda the First sensed them. They carried slimy, oily auras rather than the foggy, depressing auras of Ganon. Queen Zelda mentioned feeling as though she could not remove that sensation from her very soul, like __**she had been doused in oil**__. They never were able to determine who it was, but they suspected that the Demon Spirit Ghirahim had somehow survived for thousands of years and had a plan to resurrect the original Demon._

_While they understood that this was a distinct possibility, they tried to find other possible explanations that would not lead to the possibility of the complete annihilation of their world. Dark magic users were brought forward, but all proven innocent when their auras were revealed to be nothing like Ganon's, let alone that of Demons. They sent their spies beyond the borders of their kingdom to find any traces of a Demon and to destroy it, but there was no success in these pursuits. They gave up hope that there would be a way to find out the identity of who had taken their children, and simply set their people to searching for any trace of the princesses._

_When all were brought together for their eleventh birthday party, there was a strange phenomenon. Their eyes, all the sky blue that has been the only identifier to remain perfectly consistent throughout history, turned a fearsome blood red. It was not the red that the Sheikah possess, but a dark and evil color that ill-suited these souls. It was only for a moment, but each girl, fearing what it could mean, recorded the occurrence in their diaries and confided in their parents and sister. Princess Lanayru delved into research to find any explanation she could, even in the darkest of magical tomes their family had collected. Princess Din manipulated her power to look within her very soul to find the stain and try to identify it to aid in the research. Princess Farore, having little in the way of controlled magical prowess or the desire to lock herself away in the library to stare at endless words scrawled on endless pages, took to the practice courts with their father, learning the art of swordplay from him so she would be able to protect her sisters with brute force while they resorted to the tactics and magical aspects respectively._

_Other things developed over the years, terrifying apparitions and ghostly whispers, haunted the triplets for years after they returned home. Din repeatedly heard whispered orders from her former owner to kill everyone in the palace and bathe in their blood. Lanayru constantly dreamt of planning the downfall of her people and laughing as they burned. Farore would see blood where it wasn't, on her blade in training or staining the fine clothes of her mother and father._

_Queen Zelda grew desperate for answers to the horrors that had been plaguing her daughters for five years since the three were reunited, but nothing added up except for previous traumas and their greatest fears. She reasoned that they were simply haunted by their pasts and not sleeping well, resorting to giving them a calming touch of magic every night before they went to sleep and having them watch her place protective magic over every inch of their rooms at night. However, her mothering only worked for so long before their ailments came back worse than before, driving the poor girls to hide in their rooms together, fearing they would accidentally hurt anyone who came too close._

_King Link, recalling Lanayru's relief upon entering the waters of the Spring of Wisdom, devised a plan. Hylia would take Din to Kakariko Village, Zelda would take Lanayru to Lake Hylia once more, and he would return Farore to the Spring of Courage. They were each named for the Goddesses whose Triforce was the embodiments of their gifts, so it would only make sense that their respective Springs might give their children peace as they tried to find a way to end their troubles of nearly six years._

_Din and Lanayru made it to their destinations with more than enough time to spare before they completely collapsed, but Farore was quite nearly lost in her own mind by the time Link could plunge her catatonic form in the blessed waters. He remained in the shallow water with her for hours by the time she finally opened her eyes once more, but her eyes remained the cursed blood red. The only response Link could get from her was her in her eyes and her breathing, but she was lost to him._

_Navi fluttered his way at this point, and the conversation is long lost to the passage of time, but he left her in the water to retrieve the Sword of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword, from the resting place he had been led to six years previously by his youngest. By the time he returned with the blade, Farore had somehow managed to regain control of her body and vanished, not even leaving a trail to follow or a guard alive to tell where she had gone._

_Fearing now that this was no longer his child, he sent Navi to find his wife and tell her to keep Lanayru in the water by any means necessary while he made his way to Din, praying that he could still heal her of the curse._

_What he realized, on his way to his eldest children, was that they had been cursed and possibly even possessed by the Demon Lord Ghirahim. They never should have tried to reunite their daughters without checking that there were no curses on any of them, and they were now paying the price. Farore was missing, probably already on her way to her sisters, and possibly no longer even Farore._

_Now, as her reincarnation, I can tell you exactly what happened when King Link left to collect the Master Sword. She was fighting for control over her own body and losing her strength slowly and steadily. The curse had been working on her mind for years, wearing her down like a stream works at the earth to form a canyon. She was worn out and weak, barely able to hold on anymore and barely coherent, never mind the state of her sanity. She would never have recovered her mind, even if King Link had returned in time to expose her to the Master Sword. The curse won and she lost control of her body, becoming a passenger and forced to watch as she rose, pretending that the waters had just needed a little longer to heal her body and getting close to the guards. She was forced to watch as her body was used to ruthlessly slaughter the Knights, all who knew once they looked in her eyes that the person killing them was not their Princess Farore, forgiving her for what they knew she would forever torture herself over._

_She left to follow the pull of the curse long before Link could return, making her way to the Spring of Power and battling against even more Knights to pull Din from her blessed waters, allowing the curse to overpower her again. But Din, knowing through her gift that her sister was gone and she would soon follow, gave her life for a final spell, pulling on Farore's lost soul that wished to take the curse to free Din. The little bit of Farore that was still sane pulled on her little magical power to take the curse from her sister's soul, removing the stain and freeing her just in time for her death._

_With the curse forcing even her ability to cry from Farore's control, she used the power absorbed from Din to travel faster to Lake Hylia and the Spring of Wisdom. However, Farore was met with a predicament in that Queen Zelda had taken the largest party of Knights of all three of the pairs. She was forced to lie in wait far above before she could make her move to attack Zelda and pull Lanayru under the effects of the curse. But while the Demon possessing her schemed and waited, it ignored the little bit of Farore it had yet to bother consuming, so she too schemed._

_She had lost her eldest triplet sister and could not be sure if Hylia would survive the wounds inflicted upon her, but perhaps there was a chance to spare Zelda and Lanayru. Her mother was a powerful magic user after all, surely she could hold off her possessed daughter long enough for Link to arrive to give her mercy. _

_In the dead of night, the Demon struck. She couldn't follow through the haze of the fight, but it was long and ended in the Queen flying into the wall and not rising again from where she collapsed on the other side of the cave sheltering the Spring of Wisdom. Victorious, Farore moved forward to pull Lanayru from the water when the elder of the two moved first, reaching out for the little she could sense of Farore and giving her final goodbye before allowing her lost sister to take the curse from her soul. The force of the removal was agony in its purest form, and she collapsed in the water, passed out and slowly inhaling the water, drowning in her own spring._

_Defeated and grieving over the soul-deep agony of losing her sisters, Farore could barely even watch as her body laughed and teleported to the middle of Hyrule Field to await the King and Queen who would surely come to end her soon enough. Demise, something within her heart whispered, before she could see no more, was in control._

I jump at the sound of a throat clearing just in front of me. I exit the document to find a blank one on my screen, always there just in case of instances such as these. "Gibbs?" I ask quietly, accepting the jar of bourbon he offers.

"I just got a call from the Hyrule embassy. Apparently, Ambassador Bo is under the impression that this case belongs to them, rather than NCIS." I meet his eyes for just a second, long enough to see the demand for an explanation.

I close my eyes, knowing he isn't going to like this. "It's one of the obscure laws outlined in a treaty between America and Hyrule from about a hundred years ago. A Hylian can immigrate and become a dual citizen, but we always remain citizens of Hyrule for our own protection in terms of racial disputes. Think of it like the mafia, or Mossad: we're all a great big family, and just because we leave doesn't mean we can stay away forever." I sip at the bourbon when I feel a darker glare come from my boss. "I hate the law, but it's been in place for so long for a good reason. Every Hylian death has to be reported to the embassy, something that is almost always overlooked by law enforcement because of how old the treaty is and because medical record alterations usually are the only way anyone bothers to find out. I was on the phone so much at the start of the case because I was informing the ambassador about the death of a military liaison in the Navy, then I had to regularly make contact to give updates and request the information the Embassy could dig up from their days in Hyrule."

"That's how you were able to find their old medical records before the warrant could be obtained," he muses. "I'm assuming you got permission from the family?"

I nod in confirmation. "The night we started the investigation I went to the Embassy to collect all the files they could dig up on his childhood and family as well as to find an agent of their own that I could approve to inform his family in Castle Town. His father is a retired Royal Guard who spent half of his career investigating the kidnapping of the Princesses, so King Link took his death hard because he taught Colin how to fight and recommended him as the liaison."

Gibbs winces and sips from his own jar. "How high does this case really go Ro?" he asks hoarsely.

"In America, he's being charged as a murderer. In Hyrule, he's facing charges of treason, kidnapping, torture, accessory to torture and kidnapping, accessory to planned murder and murder." At the stony silence, I sigh heavily. "He admitted to having old information on what happened to Princess Farore after her kidnapping, implying he knew exactly what happened to the other two of the triplets. Queen Zelda is going to come to NCIS to speak with Vance and the judge about sending him to serve his sentence in a Hylian jail for murder before his execution for treason."

"You're usually against the death penalty," he points out needlessly. "What's different about Jinks?"

"I was raised with the bastard for a few years Gibbs, he was his drunk father's son and a menace to society from the start," I grumble, swallowing a rather large amount of bourbon. The burn brings tears to my eyes. "I would run into the woods to hide from the two of them, and found a way past the wall guarding the depths of Faron Province into the Lost Woods a thousand times to stay with the Kokiri before Mom took me and ran after filing for divorce. Then there's the matter of Princess Farore." My hands clench instinctively around the jar, and I just hope he thinks its out of an instinctive rage rather than nerves that he'll find me out. "For him to hold knowledge about even one of the Princesses and not report it is as great a crime as the actual kidnapping was. I'll have to testify for more than the report on his arrest, his juvenile crimes and the information about the Princess."

He leans forward, forearms against his knees. "When and where will the trial be held?"

"Three weeks in Castle Town. The Royal Family is going to be present, and I have no doubt they'll demand some of my time while I'm there, if they don't approach me here." I take a deep breath before looking into his icy eyes. "I'm… nervous about doing as much Gibbs," I admit softly.

He smirks and sips from his jar again. "You'd be crazy if you weren't."

"It's not just about the case Gibbs." I look away and into the cold fireplace, staring for a long moment. "I'm not exactly happy about telling you about this, but I know you deserve to know… I've been in direct contact with them before, the King specifically." A quick glance shows he's stiffened and stares at me dangerously. "When Mom got the divorce, I was… not exactly normal. The psychologists at the hospital reached out to the Royal Family and King Link paid me a personal visit. The details are a little classified, but the general idea was that I would keep an ear open in the seedier places we were forced to rent out since there was a quiet threat to the City Guard. I was their best chance of getting information with my background of coming and going without notice."

"You were a spy," he states plainly.

I cock my head to the side slightly. "In a sense, but more of an informant. At one point, I was ordered to spy on a meeting that lead to the end of the threat. In return for the occasional job of spying until I graduated from college, King Link ensured we had a better living situation, that I had a good education, and much more recently a glowing recommendation as an NCIS Agent."

He looks at me for a long while before sighing in aggravation. "Does Vance know you're a spy?" he asks at last, almost disappointed in me.

Can't say that I blame him, after working with him for four months. "He knows what he needs to know. And that is not my role as a former spy for the King, rather my status as an informant. Is that a problem?"

His silence is answer enough when he rises to leave the living room for the basement. I take care to encrypt every document on my computer before shutting it down for the night, getting up to go to his guest room he's letting me borrow until the landlord fixes my door.

* * *

I smile weakly at Ilia Bo when she greets us at the Ordon Customs Train Station. "You grew up," the blonde-gone-grey woman greets me cheerfully, kissing my cheek before pulling away from the hug. "Word has it you're someone important nowadays."

I laugh a little at the sweet lady who used to find me leaving the woods. "Not that important Miss Bo." I turn to the impatient Gibbs and the intrigued Tony and Tim. "Miss Bo, this is my boss NCIS Special Agent Gibbs and my coworkers Agents DiNozzo and McGee. Everyone, this is my old babysitter and good friend Ilia Bo, the ambassador's niece."

"It's good to meet the people looking after my little Forest Sprite," she greets them with handshakes. "Come, traffic is going to be terrible if we try going to Castle Town tonight and I've got the spare rooms prepared for all of you in my house." She grabs the handle of my suitcase and drags it away before I can protest. "You, young lady, have a few things to do while you're in Ordon, namely seeing that crazy Ordona at the Spring. She's been acting up lately and is driving the whole town insane with her demands to see her little Sprite."

I chuckle at the Light Spirit's antics. "I'll see her after dinner, I promise. Knowing her, she'll demand I use the old Portal to visit Faron who'll send me off to Saria." As I roll my eyes skyward, I groan at seeing the incoming fairy. "When were you going to mention Navi is here?" I ask tiredly.

She stops in her tracks before following my gaze. "That damn fairy had the nerve to show up here?" she growls darkly. When the fairy hovers before me, she grabs the glowing ball and holds her inches from her nose. "What are you doing here?" she snarls.

"Saria sent me, there's trouble and she needs Fae now!" Navi shrieks, in an unfamiliar panic that makes my blood run cold. "Something's happening and we're really scared!"

I grab Navi and cradle her over my heart. _"What kind of trouble?" _I whisper in the Time Dialect, knowing I'm the only one in the area who can speak it thanks to Navi.

"_Twilight Era Goblins and Skyloft Era Bokoblins were spotted by the old Forest Tree Temple and in the Lost Woods!"_ she cries, shaking terribly.

I look up at Ilia in horror. "Ilia, this can't wait, I have to go now!" I hiss to her, making sure Gibbs can't hear.

She nods and points me towards the garage as she drops a set of keys in my hand. "Tell Teri I'm letting you borrow Epona, he won't ask questions. I'll handle your Agents."

I nod sharply and look at my companions worriedly. "I should be finished by dawn, don't even think of trying to follow me. If I don't make it back tell the King Navi brought word of Ancient Trouble returning. He'll understand what it meant and might be able to find me, if I'm not already dead." Before I leave, I grab my weapons from my suitcase and strap them on, sword on my back and daggers on my thighs, twin pistols already on my hips and another set under my armpits. I'm gone before they can even try to stop me.

"Is that little Fae?" I hear someone ask incredulously while I wait for Teri to fetch the bike.

When Kari stops and stares at me, I give her a wave that knocks her out of her shock. "Off to the woods to deal with the trouble?" she asks worriedly, spotting Navi hovering over my shoulder.

I nod sharply as Teri dismounts the bike and hands over the helmet. "Serious stuff by the sound of things," I answer, just as worried but able to hide it better.

She pulls out a familiar short sword, one that the Sheikah are known for forging and enchanting. "I commissioned this when Ordona started acting up and asked for you. Lady Impa in Kakariko paid the bill when she heard why, and when she brought it here, _personally,_ she had this weird little smile on her face." As I shove on the helmet, I feel her inquiring gaze heavy on my back. "Know anything about that?"

My smile hidden, I shake my head. "Not a clue," I lie easily, taking the sheathed blade and hooking it to the back of my shorts. "I'll see you around." I mount the bike and speed off, spotting Gibbs trying to catch up on foot for a moment before he's left far behind.

* * *

I abandon the bike under the roots of an ancient tree before wading into Faron Spring, knowing there's no chance of me sneaking past the guards on the wall in broad daylight. I only take this passage because they don't know about the tunnel leading directly to the grounds in front of the Forest Temple.

"Navi, can you scout ahead for me once we're in the tunnel? I don't want any surprises," I ask of the Fairy.

"Sure," she chirps nervously. I only ask it of her because I can't risk delays by waiting for her to clear the route then come back, and she knows she can fly back to me in seconds with a warning.

The second I see the weak light of day after over an hour of slow walking through the dark tunnel, I hear dim snarls I can faintly recall from memories from my previous life. I silently draw my sword and hold it at the ready in one hand, a dagger in the other as I creep to the exit. Five Bokoblins are surrounding a monkey, wounded and cowering on the far side of the clearing, one of them raising a club in preparation to land the death blow.

I throw the dagger into the base of its skull before it can even finish raising the heavy implement, killing it instantly but drawing the attention of its four remaining fellows. They charge at me, and I simply swing the blade in a circle around myself, decapitating them all in one swing since they tried to surround me.

I walk up to the injured monkey, shushing her gently and reaching out to her. She must recognize me, because she leans into my legs with a whimper for a long moment. "Its okay now girl, the monsters are gone," I whisper to her, rubbing behind her ears soothingly. When she pulls away, I kneel down to be on level with her, peeling off my unnecessary leather trench coat to reveal my sleeveless black turtleneck and vest, matching the rest of my outfit: knee-high black leather boots with two-inch wedges and black jean shorts, topped with black holsters and a thick black hood. "Where did they come from?" I ask softly, knowing she can understand me. The creatures of Farore are far more intelligent in their forest home than they're given credit for.

She points to the enormous tree temple with a shriek of fear, and I understand suddenly that there's something acting up deep within what they've always known to be their safe haven.

"I'll come back to the temple once I help the Kokiri, I promise," I swear to her, and she quiets, rubbing her head against my palm for a moment before backing away to lead me to the vine wall leading to the Lost Woods, the vines strong and healthy as ever. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Breathing deeply, I walk through Kokiri village for the first time since I was a little girl, the place silent as the grave and the air heavy with danger even though I've killed every goblin and Bokoblin running rampant down the dirt path. Navi floats ahead of me just when I hear the familiar growl of a large wolf approaching from behind.

I turn just in time for a glowing golden wolf to pounce on me, knocking me to the ground.

_The world is white when I open my eyes, and the skeletal knight is kneeling over me. "Well, it seems you have grown quite well since I last saw you, my little Farore," he greets me, phasing from a skeletal apparition into a young Link from the Time Era. "It seems trouble has followed you into this life as it does for my reincarnated self, but you seem oddly prepared for it."_

_He pulls me into a relaxed sitting position. "I remember everything from my last life," I admit to my ancestor from over a hundred thousand years ago. "I know about the curse placed on my sisters and myself in our previous lives, and I know that I have to keep from touching them to keep it dormant, as well as _her_."_

"_Yes, it would be too dangerous to reactivate the curse right now. Hyrule is too unprepared for the threat, as are you._ She _is still sealed away, but I can feel that the fates would have her freed once more, and her body completely taken over by Demise without touching your curse. Once he is weakened within her body, she has a chance of taking over and casting him from her body. Whoever has the Master Sword would be able to strike the final blow, but there is still no scenario where I can see you coming out of the battle alive."_

"_I know," I whisper softly, lowering my eyes to my lap. "Every scenario requires my death, just like the previous Princess Din's, but I'll be throwing my strength into her body to kick-start her own soul. Neither of us will make it unless someone gets extremely crafty."_

_He hums, deep in thought. "I will confer with the Light Spirits and the Sages, they may be able to figure out a way to send your soul back to your body, unless…" he trails off suddenly, and I frown at him. "Do you remember how Demise was destroyed before Ghirahim took Zelda the First through the Gate of Time before the Recolonization of the Surface?"_

"_Knight Link gathered the pieces of the Triforce and wished for his eradication," I answer, confused. "What does that have to do with my survival though?"_

"_Everything," he answers softly. "If King Link gathers the pieces and your soul can't be returned to your body after destroying Demise and ending the cycle, then he can wish you back in perfect condition. Granted, he'll have to word his wish carefully so you come back sane and truly alive, instead of as a zombie or in a vegetative state, but it could work."_

_I blink at the simplicity. "That could work very easily," I muse, looking around at the white spirit world around myself, mesmerized by the softly swirling fog. "But we have more immediate problems than Demise."_

"_Yes, the infestation of the Lost Woods. I presume the monkey informed you of the source?" he asks, refocusing._

"_The Temple by the entrance to the Woods." He nods in confirmation. "I don't suppose you would know what is causing it?"_

"_The Twilight Portal Princess Midna created in the Twilight Era has been corrupted by the latent evil left behind. It absorbed the evil energy of Faron Woods after Ganondorf was defeated in that time, and the curse you are under has activated that evil. Other parts of Hyrule will soon feel the effects, as these forces have been gathering in the dimension between the Twilight Realm and the Light Realm. This was the first of the Provinces to be ready for the evil to begin the invasion."_

"_It'll be like a dam has been breached," I murmur, slightly horrified at the thought._

_He nods. "Correct Farore. Someone will need to draw the Master Sword from its resting place and purify these portals with the power of the Goddesses and Light Spirits behind them. For now, however, only Faron Woods is the only place under this threat, and it is weak enough that the Master Sword will not be necessary so long as I accompany you – your magic and prayers will be enough in this instance. The other portals aren't giving any cause for concern, those forces make up hardly even a squad of soldiers, all of them weak at that. We have time before their portals need to be cleansed."_

_I roll my eyes. "So I guess I better get back to it then," I hint casually._

_It earns me a laugh. "Of course. I believe I shall accompany you as a wolf, as it has been too long since I've had a decent fight. Perhaps I might be able to help you clean up the Lost Woods for the Kokiri on our way there."_

I open my eyes to find Saria bent over me, my head in her lap. "Hello Princess," she greets me softly, smiling widely.

I return the smile to the Sage. "It's good to see you again Saria," I greet her, pushing myself upright to find the other child forms of the Kokiri around us in the middle of their village. "Hello everyone."

Mido crosses his arms over his chest. "You sure took your time taking care of the invaders," he grumbles.

I roll my eyes at his words, knowing he's glad under that pouty exterior. "I missed you too Mido. I think you'll be happy to wander the Woods again soon, I'll finish cleaning up the area on my way back to the Forest Temple by the entrance with Wolf."

* * *

I step out of the Temple as false dawn begins, lighting the sky with a watery grey light. I yawn, exhausted, as I walk towards my tunnel near the bottom of the path. "Grandpa, can you keep an eye on the area to make sure I didn't miss anything?" I ask once we reach the entrance, having grabbed my coat on the way there.

He shifts into his skeletal appearance. _"Of course little one,"_ he promises, a ghostly hand hovering over my shoulder as though he wishes to rest his hand there. _"Be safe, and inform the King of the trouble brewing in Hyrule once more. He has perhaps six months before the next portal in the Goron Mines becomes a problem."_

Shrugging on the coat, I give him a nod before making my way into the darkness, following the rough path easily, still knowing the way by heart without a light even after all these years. The smell is still the same, and the rocks more so, though the walls may have a little more lichen and the air maybe a little more damp.

I pull up my hood to protect my eyes when I reach the end of the tunnel at the upper pool of Faron Spring, the dewy air reaching my nose and soothing my soul. The water is mercifully cold when I step into the water, boots and socks in hand with my weapons tucked within and shrug off the coat to wrap them all up in that. I jump down into the lower pool at the shallow area that reaches to my hips just after the small drop into the lower pool, soaking myself but leaving the weapons dry. I wade to the shore to drop off my things before moving deep enough into the water to lay down enough to soak my entire body in the blessed water, healing my minor wounds and taking away the burn in my aching muscles.

"Ro?" Tim asks from shore, and I rise to turn and look at the team incredulously. "What are you doing?"

"Healing, what else?" I ask crossly, pushing myself easily to my feet without a trace of pain in my body anymore. "Tell me you didn't follow me."

"We didn't," Tim promises.

"Why would you need to heal?" Gibbs asks sharply, looking me up and down, only finding my body soaked and some small tears in my shirt that he could guess were already there. I won't say anything about the real source of those tears though. "You look fine to me."

I roll my eyes and wade out of the water, putting on my coat, socks, and boots. "That's not something you need to worry about. It's a three hour drive to Castle Town, I'm going to sleep on our way there because I've been too busy since I left to so much as sit down until about twenty minutes ago." I spot the car parked near the motorcycle, Ilia sitting in the driver's seat casually. "Come on, traffic picks up in an hour."

* * *

I grab the notepad and pen provided on the desk of the hotel room to scribble out a quick note for Navi to deliver to King Link.

_Your Majesty,_

_Last night I was summoned into the Lost Woods by the Fairy delivering this message. The Twilight Portal in the Forest Temple was corrupted and spat out an army of goblins and Bokoblins that overwhelmed the Kokiri. I was able to handle it, but it took all night and led to my lacking presence at the meeting held today in preparation for the trial next week. I apologize, but I did not wish to lash out at anyone due to exhaustion. My injuries are healed thanks to the waters of Faron Spring, so I am not in need of a healer. I can sneak out of the hotel after dark if you wish for a private meeting about what I have learned last night, but I cannot put any more information on paper, lest it fall into the wrong hands._

_Navi will wait however long you need to compose a reply, and I will be waiting._

_Fae_

Nodding to myself, I fold it into a paper football and hand it to Navi, not questioning how the ball of light with wings is able to hold the paper. "Quick as you can Navi," I whisper, opening the window as footsteps near my door, the gait telling me its Tony.

I get the window closed in time for him to barge his way in, sitting on the sill and leaning tiredly on against the wall in a bathrobe and pajamas. "Feeling better?" he asks, sitting on my messy bed.

"Much," I answer casually, no longer feeling so tired after such a long and busy night. "How was the meeting?"

"The King and Queen were disappointed but understood you would explain it to them at some other time," he answers, his relief quite clear. "I can see why you Hylians are so loyal to the Crown, they just inspire that feeling even in the rest of us up close."

I smile wistfully, knowing I could have had that if I wasn't cursed. I can never have that, and I never really could. "Yeah, they're good people, and good for this country." I look out the window, down onto the street three stories down. "Anything I need to know?"

"There was something Gibbs said, about you serving two masters," he starts, clearly confused. "King Link assured us that you have nothing tying you down to anyone except NCIS. Know anything about that?"

I snort in amusement, rising to my feet and giving him the mysterious smile I know drives him nuts. "It's nothing you need to worry about Tony. I need to get cleaned up for dinner, so could you please leave?"

"Yeah, sure," he grumbles, and I know he was hoping to get a peek.

* * *

Navi returns with a short note when I enter my room after dinner at Telma's Bar around the corner with the team.

_Come to the castle alone when you get this, and bring the Sheikah blade. Show it to the guards, they will show you to my study when you arrive._

_King Link_

With a heavy sigh, I pull on my vest and shed all my weapons save for the Sheikah blade, knowing they'll all be taken when I arrive, but they'll know to allow the King to hold this blade until I leave.

A knocking on my door makes me pale, and I grip the blade tightly in one hand behind my leg as I answer the door, only to find Gibbs standing there with an icy glare. "Gibbs," I greet, sheathing the weapon and letting him in.

He looks at the daggers and guns laid out on my bed. "Going somewhere?" he asks neutrally.

I nod sharply. "A meeting with an old friend, he's a little paranoid and doesn't like too many weapons in one area."

"This old friend wouldn't happen to be the King?" he asks, turning to look at me, eyes on the edge of the note stuffed into my pocket.

I tuck it in and look away. "I have to report what happened last night, there's a threat I need to warn him about. It won't affect any other country unless Hyrule falls thanks to the trains and mountains. If Hyrule falls, nothing can survive the trek through the mountains or the desert to affect anyone else, not even magic would be able to reach that far."

I look up to find him looking at me with resignation. "I'm waiting here until you get back Ro, is that clear?" he asks softly, stepping close and wrapping his hand gently around the back of my neck, pulling me close in a fatherly hug.

Shocked, I slowly wrap my arms around him and rest my head over his heart, soaking up the affection for a moment. "Thank you," I whisper as I pull away. "I hope this won't take long."

I slip out of the hotel easily through the back door, sticking to the shadows as I creep up to the gates, planning out how to omit any reference to my identity as I lift my hood. He knows I've been taught how to navigate the Lost Woods by the Kokiri, so he has no reason to suspect that I'm Farore, and I can simply say Navi and the monkeys led me where I needed to go. Easy enough, because then I'm just omitting the presence of Time Era Link, a telltale sign of our familial connection, and both are true enough. Wolf technically accompanied me, and our conversation had little to do with the portal that I couldn't have either assumed or Navi would have been able to sense.

I silently approach a Guard waiting for me at the door, handing over the note and blade before he can ask what my business is. He ushers me inside and I follow him through the stone halls for a long walk before he announces me to King Link and Queen Zelda in his familiar study, Sheikah blade in hand to turn over. I enter and offer a deep bow of respect to my King and Queen, lowering my hood once the door is closed.

"Thank you for seeing me so soon your Majesties," I murmur respectfully.

They nod, though Queen Zelda stares out the window distractedly as King Link sits in his desk. "Please, have a seat Fae," he offers, gesturing to one of the chairs on my side of his giant desk. "I was worried when you weren't at the meeting this morning as was expected, but even more so when we learned you were led away by Navi upon your arrival at the train station."

I nod easily. "Ilia wasn't happy to see her, but Keri understood Ordona's fuss for the warning it was. The Sheikah blade she presented me with saved my life several times last night in the Forest Temple and the Lost Woods against some rather strong opponents when I ran out of bullets and my daggers."

"Lady Impa informed us of the request for this blade," Queen Zelda murmurs, lifting my blade and turning to look at me at last. Her eyes are slightly red, and I suddenly remember its close to the anniversary of the kidnapping of my sisters and I. "We've been upping the training of our soldiers and warned the leaders of the Zora, Gorons, and Gerudo of the growing threat. The Wall Guard gave no indication of a threat, nor did we receive word of anyone gaining entry to the sealed area." Her eyes turn hard. "How did you get into the area? Now and as a child?"

I bite my lip, looking at them rather sheepishly. "Faron Spring has a hidden tunnel leading to the area in front of the Forest Temple. Nothing with evil intent can exit that tunnel, but anything can enter from the other side and lie in wait within. The water is blessed, meaning nothing evil can set foot in anything doused in the Spring's water without being cleansed."

Link nods slowly in agreement. "Stories concur with this. What happened to cause the threat?"

"Princess Midna's Portal deep within the Forest Temple must have absorbed all evil magic left after the Hero of Twilight's victory, cleansing the leftover traces of Ganondorf's magic from Faron Province, just like the other Temple Portals have done to cleanse those Provinces in her time." They nod slowly in understanding. "Well, it seems that the evil lingering there for so many centuries slowly corrupted the portal and an army built up as a way to relieve the growing pressure in that alternate dimension between our worlds. The Forest Temple Portal spat out an army of goblins and Bokoblins that overwhelmed the Kokiri quickly and infested the Lost Woods first before moving into the rest of the sealed forest."

"How did you find the Portal?" Zelda asks, moving to sit in the chair next to me.

"Navi guided me, and the monkeys were a great help, just like in the tales of the Twilight Era," I answer, earning a small laugh from them both.

Link leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk and folding his hands under his chin. "Do you believe the other Portals will pose a problem?"

I nod regretfully. "If the Forest Temple was any indication, the other portals will soon follow the same path. It was relatively easy to cleanse the portal with a little Spring Water and Sage Saria's power surging through the forest again, but I'm worried about how the Gorons and Zoras will fare."

"We will find a way to deal with the other temples," Zelda assures me softly, reaching over to rest a hand on my hand soothingly.

I shoot her a grateful smile. "Thank you for taking me seriously. My teammates are curious about where I went and what I was doing though, what can I tell them?"

The two of them trade worried looks, but Link is the one to finally turn to me with an answer. "You will tell them nothing. I will give them an explanation once I can work out a believable story."

"In the meantime," Zelda murmurs, her hand moving to my wrist gently, "I will give you a quick scan to ensure you are in perfect health after your long night. I trust that the waters healed you very well, but I want to be sure."

I nod in consent, knowing my dormant magic will hide itself and my true identity from even my own mother. It's the way things have to be.

* * *

I smile, amused, at the box offered to me by a Knight as I follow Gibbs out of the courthouse. "Agent Ro, a gift from the Royal Family." I accept it, only for Gibbs, Tony, and Tim to receive their own identical boxes. "Thanks from the Royal Family for justice in the crimes against Princess Farore."

I open the note attached to my box and smile slightly. "For the gala tonight?"

"It is the Queen's birthday, and she has invited the four of you as a personal thanks for your actions," he answers easily. "Your gifts are what they would like you to wear tonight, as they are aware none of you were packed for such an event."

"We'll be there," Gibbs huffs, slightly annoyed but also amused, I'm fairly sure. The Knight leaves with a short nod and we leave the building, walking the block to our hotel and congregating in my room. "Alright Ro, what's the purpose for the invite?" he asks once the door is closed.

I smirk at him. "Politics mostly. They're showing their gratitude for enacting a small amount of justice for the missing Princess Farore on top of giving justice to a family close to theirs. Treason like this isn't common in Hyrule, and the traitors usually end up dead long before their actions are discovered. We caught Jinks betraying not just the Crown, but also his own people by killing a fellow Hylian and by attempting to do the same to me, a powerful figure even here where I'm known mostly as a myth for some things I did a few years ago."

Gibbs rolls his eyes, finally forgiving me for keeping my spying days from him. "So we have no choice but to go?"

"No choice, unless we are called back for a good reason. Vance wouldn't dare let this opportunity pass though, if we were invited then he's already on his way or here for the gala as well." I point to the door. "Now, I need to get a start on figuring out how to dress like a Hylian lady once more, and you all need to relax after court. Just knock on my door if you need help with anything."

* * *

I smooth the long, flowing skirt of my silk gown, royal blue with a white sash around my waist and hovering just above the ground, sleeves just off my shoulders and a sweetheart neckline with white gloves almost entirely covering my arms like a second skin. The white shoes with three-inch heels are strappy, more for fashion than function, but comfortably padded and decorated with what looks to be diamonds. The jewelry they gave me are a silver and diamond choker and matching diamond earrings dangling from my ears, arranged in their coat of arms as a sign of favor. Matching combs hold my curled hair in a little updo I managed, a few curls framing my face but the rest of it pinned mostly in a heavy bun at the back of my head, some left down in a light waterfall down my back.

I open the door of my room to find Tim struggling to figure out how to arrange the pin on his tie, which I do easily with a smile. "The bird points _up_ to the Triforce McGee," I inform him. "The pin goes through the tie and the shirt right in the center of your chest, and the tie is tucked into the vest."

He sighs. "The YouTube video was too grainy to be of any use."

I laugh lightly. "Good thing you've got me on hand to help then, isn't it?" I tease him.

He then takes a good look at me and whistles. "Damn," he murmurs in shock.

I blush under his scrutiny, knowing nobody at NCIS has ever seen me dressed in such finery. "Shut up Tim," I growl half-heartedly. "You're bad enough, and I already know Tony is going to drool all over me."

"You're just… wow," he stutters, staring as I finish fixing his outfit. He tries to blink out of his shock, and offers his arm when I return to the door with my clutch. I'm just glad that King Link slipped a note in the box telling me to bring the Sheikah knife and a gun just in case, including that the guards were to shut off the alarm when I enter due to having Royal permission to be armed on Castle grounds. "Shall we? Everyone else is in the lobby waiting for us."

I take his arm and let him lead the way, Navi fluttering along next to my head silently for once.

* * *

I walk away from the Castle silently, knowing the others won't be too worried about me over leaving early. "Do you really have to go so soon?" Link asks from the shadows, catching up to me in the entrance gardens. "The gala won't end for hours yet."

I smile softly at the King. "I don't think I can handle any more of your nobles flirting with me, your Majesty, without the temptation to break noses."

He chuckles in amusement. "Hylia, Din, and Lanayru said they saw you were giving people false smiles all night, though they weren't able to get away from their suitors long enough to come introduce themselves."

"It's okay, I understand. Maybe I'll write to them sometime and introduce myself that way to make up for missing them tonight," I muse with a smile.

"They'd like that," he replies softly, eyes sad for a moment. I know he's thinking of the daughter he doesn't realize is standing right in front of him. "Still, are you sure you can't stay a little longer? Even if only for the drinks or to watch the nobles make fools of themselves?"

"I'm not one for parties your Majesty. I'm just a little too wild for functions like these."

He gives a wistful smile. "I think, if we ever find Farore, I would hope she's something like you."

The words hurt, and I have to force my eyes not to well with tears. My father will never know until its too late that he got his wish. "Wherever she is, I pray to the Goddesses that she is safe and happy."

"I think I could live without her here if I knew at least that much Miss Ro." He flounders for a moment before stepping forward, offering his hand for a handshake. "Thank you for attending my Queen's gala and serving justice on behalf of my family. I wish you a good night and safe journey back to America tomorrow."

I shake his hand firmly, meeting his gaze. "Thank you for inviting us to your Queen's gala, and it was my greatest pleasure to be the one to carry out justice for your family. I wish you and your family the best of health and fortune."

* * *

Ilia parks by the entrance to Ordon Spring, giving me a chance to get out. "Do you want us to wait?" she offers once her window is down.

I shake my head. "I'll walk back to town, I don't think this will take very long Miss Bo," I decline. "Besides, if I miss the train I can catch the midnight one and sleep on the way out." I look at the males in the back and passenger seats. "Don't wait for me, you'll just stress yourselves out for nothing," I tease them with a small smile.

The second they're out of sight, I turn around to slowly walk into the abandoned Spring where ancient runes on the stones begin to pulsate with Ordona's power, an indicator that she's in the process of materializing. I shed my coat and boots as the water begins to glow, kneeling in the sand with my head bowed and hand over my heart to await her acknowledgement.

"_Rise, my little one,"_ she croons softly. I rise to my feet slowly, raising my chin to look up at her spirit in the form of a goat. _"You were right to run to the forest when you did, my child. I am proud of you, as are my brethren and the Goddesses themselves."_

"Thank you for your praise," I murmur, ducking my head as my cheeks warm uncontrollably.

She snorts in amusement. _"Your battle has only just begun, and you stand so brave despite the pain of your youth. The times to come will test you in body and spirit – are you prepared to face your fate?"_

Calming myself and steeling my nerves, I think it over. I came here willingly, despite the summons, because I knew I would always come back. I knew the risks of going with Navi, and despite knowing that she set in motion the fate of so many of my ancestors and did the same to me the instant I chose to follow her into the forest. I knew that by following her upon my arrival, I would be sealing my fate. I already knew I wouldn't survive before, so what difference does it make now?

I stare up into her eyes steadily. "I am, and I will," I vow to her. "I will end the curse, no matter the price it costs."

* * *

_Part 5: Farore's Fate_

_In light of the death of two of the three sisters, the most likely assumption of all throughout history would be that Farore too died after the possession of her body. But this is incorrect. Her body was not her own, and it was never killed, despite the battle that was waged by the King and Queen on their youngest child._

_Farore only caught glimpses of their fight, struggling as she was to gather the last of her strength to beg for an end to her suffering. Her eyes were all she could control while Demise was in control, who had no need of eyes thanks to the powers he had that were able to provide any sight her eyes could ever hope to. She pushed against the control enough to bring tears to her eyes when she was forced to strike a painful blow against her mother, who realized that this was not their daughter they were fighting, but a Demon and a curse._

_During a lull in the fight, when both parties were regrouping, Queen Zelda informed King Link about what she had discovered. Both were unable to bring themselves to harm their child, no matter what she did to them, and would not harm her when there was some part of their child still alive and aware of what was happening around her. Thus, they resorted to repeating history._

_While King Link fought Farore in close combat, Queen Zelda, with the aid of Princess Hylia, set up a ritual to contain the evil they were fighting and the body it controlled, but they were unable to determine if it would at least free Farore's soul or just trap her with the Demon for eternity. They called upon the Hylian deities with their strongest prayers and pushed their magic into the ritual circle they burned into the ground, using the Master Sword the King wielded as the focus in the center of the circle._

_Before she could be sealed away, Farore was in control for a brief moment. Her final words were a secret kept by the three remaining Royals, but are now known even to their descendants. "The daughters three will return, and only one must fall to free us all." There was more she meant to say, but she was pulled into the seal before it could be said. Even I have no clue what the words would have been, for that is the last I can remember of my previous life._

_History tells us what happened next: the funerals were held for the fallen princesses. Instead of having it as a huge public event, as would normally be the case, the service was held privately and the coffins were closed as opposed to open as had been tradition since the beginning. Perhaps it was because none of the girls were the Heir or Queen, rather children that were wanted but not strictly needed. Cruel though my words may seem, that is the way things were. The only purpose for children beyond the Heir would be for the purpose of gaining alliances between houses or countries, and it had been that way just as long as the Royal House had existed, even until just a century ago, and still is in some countries._

_To this day, the seal cast by Queen Zelda has held strong, but signs have been noted by all in Hyrule that evil may soon be reappearing. Monsters have begun to roam the land, entering the realm once more through corrupted portals thousands of years old. The roads are not quite so safe as they used to be, and citizens living any distance from the safety of larger establishments have been urged for months now to raise the security measures of their homes. Even towns and cities have been faced with upping their Guard numbers and training regimes, hoping to be prepared for any threat to better protect their citizens._

_Other countries have opened negotiations with Hyrule in the event that evacuations become necessary for families, should the danger levels rise too high for citizens close enough to border trains to evacuate to other countries rather than into cities as an effort to prevent panic by overcrowding. As far as is known, they are going well with all countries, where Hyrule has offered to pay for the construction of shelters for their people to evacuate to and work arrangements made. As an extra, they have also begun construction on shelters for homeless populations in these countries on a plot of land where they can make their way as farmers._

I close the document, knowing the story is done. Even if it isn't written with all the details of this life, someone will figure it out enough later on to either write it or share it on the internet in some form or another. As it is, after a couple of months after the gala and hours of rereading those painful words to relive the memories has led me to the conclusion that I simply can't write anymore. There's nothing left to say, nothing left to do but find an editor who won't change what I say and will send a copy of the finished work to the King and Queen after I'm gone. Maybe they'll understand why I've stayed away even after having every chance to come home to them after Mom ran away. Once they connect the dots, and understand the patterns of history, maybe they can even forgive me for my deception.

At least, I know I'm allowed to dream of the possibility.

Tears blur my vision as I shut it down and throw back another shot of tequila. I'm not crying for the dead Marine whose college sweetheart murdered him for marrying someone else, I'm crying for the loss of a chance at happiness for so many.

* * *

I open my eyes to find Gibbs frowning down at me where I'm comfortably nestled under my blankets in my darkened room. "What?" I groan, closing my eyes in the hope of lessening the light piercing my eyeballs will help my hangover slightly.

"Why were you drinking again?" he asks sharply yet softly.

I bury my face in my pillow, and I feel his hand massage the base of my skull soothingly. "Maybe because I'm a lonely bitch drinking away the jealousy," I grumble. "Maybe I just want to forget the evils of the world."

"That's not the answer and you know it Ro. Tell me the truth," he orders softly.

Tears fill my eyes, and I can feel my pillow absorbing them already. "I can't," I whisper, choked up and unsteady already. "I want to, but I can't Gibbs."

* * *

I push away another completed report when someone clears their throat next to my desk, and I turn to find Director Vance standing over me. "Director?" I ask pointedly, pulling another file into the space in front of me to begin filling out my next report.

"You've got a call in MTAC," he informs me.

I frown in response. "I wasn't expecting one," I murmur in confusion, dropping my pen and rising to follow him upstairs.

"It's an emergency apparently, in Hyrule," he clarifies, and I walk in to find an exhausted King Link on the screen. "King Link, Agent Fae Ro as you requested."

"_Thank the Goddesses,"_ he breathes in obvious relief.

I frown at the sight of new wrinkles on his face, worry lines. "Your Majesty," I greet courteously with a short bow. "I'm told there is an emergency?"

"_The Portal in the Mines poured out an army last night, and the Gorons have sealed them until help can come and clean the place up."_ His eyes darken in grief. _"Several Gorons were killed as they were evacuating, and more are trapped where the fire creatures can't survive in the cooling rooms. We need your assistance in cleansing the portals and actually fighting these creatures."_

I stare in shock. "Fire creatures scare the life out of me your Majesty. I'm a forest person, meaning I'm not a fan of fiery fiends. I have no experience in handling these types of creatures, but the Gorons should've been able to handle them easily."

"_Well, I don't know what to say to that,"_ he admits. _"You're really the only person we can think of aside from myself, but our advisors refuse to allow me to enter the fray as I wish to. At least, not without the aid you could provide."_

I close my eyes and turn my head away. "Water from the Spirit's Spring won't last in the volcano," I inform him at last. "The heat would destroy the magical properties and turn it into normal water by the time you could reach the portal, let alone the mines themselves. You'd need the Master Sword if you want to do this, and you'll need the elders to call on their Sage to boost the power of the land itself to add to the cleansing power. If they don't, the Sword can do it alone, but it may not prove as effective as fast." I open my eyes to look at him. "I will be at the Ordon Station as soon as I can."

He sighs in relief. _"Thank you, Agent Ro. I'll have your transport from there to here arranged by tonight, and the next train from you to Ordon is the day after tomorrow at nine in the morning. By then I'll have retrieved the Master Sword."_

I nod sharply in acknowledgement. "I'll be there your Majesty."

Vance signals for the call to end, and turns to me once the screen goes dark. "I'll handle Gibbs and your reports, go pack. Come back tomorrow and I'll give you authorization to take the heavier gear out of the Armory. I'll have a report of what you're up against ready for you when you arrive so you can decide what weapons you'll want to take with you."

"Yes sir," I murmur, turning to leave.

"Agent Ro," he calls after me, prompting me to turn around and look at him quietly. "Good luck."

I bite the inside of my cheek at the worry in his eyes. "Thank you, sir."

I doubt I'll ever see anyone again after I leave the building tomorrow.

* * *

I stop King Link by flinging my arm in front of him, closing my eyes and listening for that sound. "Did you hear that?" I ask softly, barely more than a whisper.

After a long silence where I hear the sound of metal dragging on metal and heavy steps in the distance, I pull my arm back. "I hear it," he replies just as softly. I open my eyes to stare at the mines, stinging from the heat before I can lower the protective amber goggles. "Not too far in, do you think?"

I draw one of my many blades, regretting the need to leave my guns but glad I could bring a bow into the mines. "Agreed. Out of sight of that bridge up top, at the least." I look at the pillars leading in a jumping path towards the far edge, but sadly without anything to catch us should we fall. "I'll go first." I jump over the gap leading straight down to a fiery death by lava, not looking down and just focusing on the jump. "Ro to Base, any luck on improving the scans of the mines?" I ask into the microphone hovering at the corner of my mouth.

"_Negative Ro, only getting the three water baths and slightly cooler spots. Nothing discernable,"_ an unfamiliar agent reports.

Landing easily on the ledge, I sheathe my dagger on my thigh and take up my bow, nocking an arrow and clearing the area as Link follows carefully. "So edit the program. Take the maps the Gorons gave you and put anything below the temperature of the lava on that map and send it to us!"

I hear someone being smacked with what I think is a book. _"We're on it now Ro, it's Green's first day on the job,"_ Agent Lori soothes, and I can almost feel the glare she's sending at Agent Green.

I turn to find Link rolling his eyes. "Well, we're on the inside of the lava pit guarding the entrance, so start the map there please. I want the map ready before we go any further in case of interference."

I sigh at him yet again. "I'd feel better if you were working this on the other end your Majesty. If anything happens to you…"

"It's my own fault if something happens to me, and I'm responsible for ensuring you make it out of this alive since I've had the training to do such things," he rattles off yet again, rolling his eyes as he readies his own bow.

A shriek draws my eye to the bridge, where a fire lizalfos out of legends shrieks at us. "We've got company," I inform the others quickly, pulling back the arrow and firing, killing the creature with the arrow through its throat. "Where's our map?"

"_Done, we're sending it to your armbands now. Fifty percent downloaded,"_ Green answers happily.

I look down at the band covering my right forearm and nod approvingly as a good part of the mines are drawn with the relevant information. "One hundred percent," I respond once the last chamber finishes being drawn and filled with the pertinent information. "Sync the goggles with enemy numbers, total in the area on the upper right and number in the room remaining on the left."

Typing fills my ear as I shoot another of the creatures as it takes aim at Link, who's busy shooting at another charging at us. _"Done, and done!"_

* * *

I glare at the screen from over Coro's shoulder, meeting Vance's stern gaze and Gibbs's worried one. "It's just a few burns that'll heal up easily in the Spring, and a lot less than I was expecting." I swat away the hand of the Goron healer, who tries to poke at the makeshift bandage Link wrapped my bicep in when a Goron guard got spooked by our appearance and attacked. "There's nothing to worry about."

Vance turns to King Link, who stands by my side. _"Your Majesty, is the mission going according to plan at all within reasonable limits?"_

I bristle at the insult to my King, who nods along anyway. "No injuries sustained were unexpected save for the jumpy guard. Communications were not expected to last and we had everything we could predict in hand. No unnecessary risks were taken, if that is your concern. At this rate, your Agent will be home again in no time."

"_Very well, please keep me updated on any developments."_

Gibbs steps forward, and I meet his gaze evenly. _"Are you able to proceed?"_ he asks simply.

It's the question he asked when I was shot in the side on my first case with him as an intern, taking the bullet for him. We were trapped without any backup or communication after being kidnapped undercover, and the only way out was by fighting our way forward. Much like right now. "Yes Gibbs. I can continue without a problem."

He nods sharply before signaling the end of the call. Link turns to me, removing his goggles as we leave the hottest area of the volcano, picking up our guns on the way. "I assume Gibbs is something of a father figure to you?" he asks with a small smile.

I return the smile easily. "Something like that. I've never really had a father that cared, and it doesn't help I'm the youngest person on our team."

"How did you even get involved with NCIS and meet Agent Gibbs?" he queries as we hop into the cart that'll take us to the elevator down to Karariko.

"I interned there for a criminal justice degree with another team when they came across a case where they needed a barely legal Hylian for an undercover operation to bust a human trafficking ring." I pull my braid forward over my shoulder and begin to unravel the strands to keep my hands busy. "Gibbs was the 'seller' and I was the 'merchandise' for the day. I'm not sure where things went wrong, but we got made and they took us off-site and got rid of our trackers. They thought to cuff Gibbs, but didn't do the same with me because I was supposedly a weakling under the influence of drugs – it was really that they looked the other way and made sure I wouldn't show up sober. Gibbs didn't know it, but I hid that wire you gave me for emergencies in my waistband." I look up and blush at the amusement in his eyes. "We got buckled into the back seat of a van at gunpoint by the time I was starting to sober up, not that I wasn't coherent the entire time… but when we were in the storage area of the port I slipped it into my hands and attacked the driver. We were the only two to survive since the others didn't have seatbelts on when the car rolled, and when we got out we found they had backup. Gibbs was shooting at one of the thugs and someone snuck up behind him, so I took a bullet in the side instead of wasting time warning him. That question he asked back there? It's the same one he asked when we had to move before they could pin us down without cover."

"How old were you then?" he asks, poorly stifling his chuckles at the knowledge I was tipsy for the whole operation.

"It was just before my nineteenth birthday," I admit, my blush darkening even more at his amusement. "When we were done and rescued the girls he head-slapped me for being reckless, telling me off for it and in the same breath informing me he would be taking over supervising and training me when I became an agent."

He laughs outright by this point as we jump out of the cart and stumble into the elevator. "Just how much did you end up drinking for that operation?" he asks with a silly grin on his face.

I look away with an innocent expression. "Oh, I'd say Vance would call it at a quarter of his decanter of bourbon he keeps in his office." He chokes on his laughter at this point.

"You were hammered, weren't you?"

I whistle, not giving any response as we descend.

* * *

I smile softly up at the Light Spirit Eldin as he perches on the edge of the upper pool of his spring, ignoring the sprawled and unconscious King at the shore with Wolf standing protectively over him. _"Your burden has been heavy on your shoulders these many years, but it shall soon end and you will be free at last."_

"Freedom… it's a sad joke, isn't it Eldin? I can only find my freedom in death, but never so long as my soul remains on this plane," I muse in return. "If I had the choice, I would forever stay as Agent Ro, happy to serve the fallen and drink myself sick at the end of every case. I'd choose to die alone, no children left behind to bury a mother, or a lover to wait for on the other side. Just friends who can let me go and move on with their lives and continue serving the dead…" I glance back to see Link is still unconscious. "No parents to bury a child," I whisper softly, turning back to the spirit staring down at me. "I guess it was too much to ask that I'd never leave that burden to so many people."

"_Burdens none should ever bear the weight of dearest,"_ he croons softly, lowering his head. _"But it is a burden meant to be shared and carried forever. Everyone in Hylia's Realm has someone, be it their lost Loftwing or a not-so-distant friend who cares for you more than anything else on this plane. If you left no burden, you would never be missed, and never be remembered. It is the gift of Farore herself that means the dead are deserving of that much from the living."_

I look down into the water submerging my feet and rear, healing the last of my wounds. "I don't think I'm strong enough to forgive myself for bonding with so many, Eldin."

He snorts in amusement. _"To bond with one another is to honor Farore, my little Sprite. You will always be remembered, for the good, the bad, and everything in between. Your blood will write your story in history, your bones will give the structure for it to last, and though your flesh will die it will forever remind future generations of your tragedy. You shall be honored when you enter the Sacred Realm to wait for your family, just as your sisters and parents to be with the ancestors who have lost their sisters, their mothers, their sons, and their daughters to this cycle."_

I close my eyes and pull up my legs, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my forehead on my knees. "I will end the cycle so our souls may rest." The light fades away and the night is dark without the glow of the moon. The water splashes behind me after I uncurl slightly, and King Link's hand rests on my shoulder. "Welcome back your Majesty," I greet him softly.

"What do you know of my daughter?" he asks softly, hopefully.

I swallow harshly. "I don't know where she is," which is true because I don't know what happened to the little girl who used to be this man's daughter. "I don't know anything other than that she is somehow still alive."

I look up to find that edge of grief is gone from his eyes. "The Hero of Time spoke to me for a long time," he informs me softly, removing his hand and sitting in the water next to me. "He said you could find her before she can come to harm and bring her home."

"It's hard to find someone who doesn't want to be found and doesn't even know she's being searched for," I inform him sadly. "I won't give you false hope of finding her, in this life or the next, but I can only give you hope that there may one day be answers for you and your family." I promise this to myself, and I know it will be kept thanks to the documents I've been writing up these past months. Not even Gibbs knows that I've updated my Will, as recently as when we came back from Hyrule for the trial.

"I'd say that's the best we can hope for anymore," he muses softly.

I force my breathing to remain steady as I push myself upright. "It's getting late, and we've had a busy day. I'm going to bed."

* * *

I wake up just in time for the King to start shaking my shoulder. "Majesty?" I ask groggily, pushing myself upright to glance at the clock brightly displaying five o' clock in the morning. "What is it?"

"Something took Zelda and killed a handful of Knights," he informs me shakily, and the words drive a twinge of fear into my heart. "Hylia said it had to be a Demon of some sort. Lanayru is researching anything in the library on demons while she and Din are working to fix the spells on the castle."

I push away the blanket and rise from my bed, glad to be wearing a tank top and long cotton pants. "What time was this?" I ask, grabbing my computer and booting it up to contact the princesses personally. I have a feeling I know exactly who did this.

"Just an hour ago, the guards called me when they failed to rescue her before the culprit escaped the city," he answers quickly.

The dark calling screen lights up and I find Princess Lanayru looking at me with red-rimmed eyes and messy hair, a book still in hand. _"Princess Lanayru_," she introduces herself.

"Princess, this is NCIS Special Agent Fae Ro, we've been trading emails for some time," I return shortly. "Your father is here with me and told me what happened, and I think I can help since I've done some research on demons and dark magic for my line of work."

She brightens immensely. _"Of course, ask anything you wish for point me in the right direction."_

I take a deep breath. "The oldest of Hyrule's history books, I need you to find it, then tell me exactly what this person's aura felt like. If Princess Hylia claims it to have been a demon, then there are only two in all of our history that could fit the bill, or Ganon has found a new form altogether."

"_Hylia complained about it being like a stench that never truly fades, and Din keeps wiping her hands with a towel for no reason. I've been feeling like I've been playing with oil paints far too long, and the healers are refusing to enter her rooms,"_ she describes in confusion, and I close my eyes in dread. _"What is it? What do you know?"_

I stare at the King in horror. "It… it shouldn't be possible… I've studied everything and thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me…"

"What is it?" he asks softly.

"Ghirahim," I answer weakly. "He's after the Spirit Maiden again, and he's already got her."

"_That's impossible, he was eradicated with Demise just before the Recolonization!" _Lanayru cries out in shock.

I shake my head. "The books only say that Demise was sealed away, there was nothing about his fate in even Knight Link's diaries or any of the legends. And I really hate to bring this up, but you and your sisters are the second set of triplets in the history of your family. The last set were also named after the Goddesses of the Triforce, and nobody knows what happened to the last Princess Farore. In that era's Queen Zelda's diary, she wrote about a similar feeling you just described when her triplets were kidnapped in the dead of night."

Link flinches in horror. "They were cursed, and Farore was sealed away after something possessed her, using her body to kill dozens of guards and Din and Lanayru before her remaining sister and parents confronted her in Hyrule Field." I stare at him in shock. "I've seen it a thousand times in my nightmares, more so in the past couple of years."

Lanayru looks away from the screen with a sigh. _"If it makes any difference, she didn't kill Lanayru or Din. Nayru pushed a part of the curse from her soul into Farore's when she knew it was what her sister would have wanted. She passed out and drowned in the Spring of Wisdom."_ She wipes her eyes and turns back to the screen. _"Din was already dying when she was pulled out of the Spring of Power by Farore's parasite, and Farore reached out with her soul to take the curse from Din. She used what was left of her power to make sure it worked and died from expending too much of her life energy without the contact of the Spring to help regenerate that power."_

"So Ghirahim may have been the one to take her?" he asks shortly.

"Almost definitely." I take a deep breath. "We have to split up your Majesty. With the Master Sword and your skill, you should be able to handle him without too much hassle, at least enough to distract him until Her Majesty can get away and to the nearest Spring or the Lost Woods. Ancient magics prevent him from touching anything blessed by the Gods without suffering intense agony."

He shakes his head. "Clearing the Water Temple is a two-person job, at the least," he protests.

"If he gets her soul, there won't be a point to clearing the Temples. It'll be just like the time before Skyloft, thousands dying by the day," I shoot right back, silencing him.

"_The Zora contacted the Head of the Guard Dad. They've been watching the lake and there's no trouble whatsoever. They have a small army there to handle any emergency,"_ Lanayru informs us. _"If Ghirahim's really behind this, he's going to be way too strong for you alone Dad. You'll need backup."_

I force myself not to react, when I want to close my eyes and scream or cry. "She's got a point," I whisper softly to him. "One to rescue the Queen, the other to distract Ghirahim." I take a deep breath and nod to the Princess, my sister. "Thank you, your Highness."

I end the call and put away the computer, something telling me not to bother with resetting the encryptions. "I'll handle-" he starts, but I cut him off.

"You will get your wife and get out of there," I tell him, my tone not allowing any other options to be considered. "She'll need your help getting to Lake Hylia to purify her spirit after being around Ghirahim so long, and I don't know the way there."

He shakes his head. "Absolutely not, I promised you would go home. If you face him, you'll die!"

I offer a wistful smile. "There's no better way to go down than protecting my King and Queen. If it's my time, then so be it." To die to protect my family is more than enough for me. They'll mourn, but they can't truly miss what they've never had, can they?

* * *

I pull up my hood and lift the collar from its place as a large turtleneck into the mask it really is meant to be, covering my mouth and nose before covering my eyes with the goggles from the mines. "Agent Lori?" I ask softly, knowing the King doesn't have his headset on yet.

"_Agent Ro?" _she asks shakily.

I close my eyes to stop the tears. "Put me on a private call to Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS please."

"_Okay. Just a moment."_

Ringing fills my ear for a moment before he answers. _"Gibbs,"_ he answers casually.

"Hey Gibbs," I greet him softly, losing control of my voice as tears fill my eyes. I quickly darken the lenses so Link can't see them.

"_Ro? What's wrong?"_ he asks, worry in his voice just like I wished to hear every day when I was a little girl.

I close my eyes. "Everything's gone to hell Gibbs. Magic and demons and all that. The Temples were diversions, busy work. He got the Queen and we've found him in Hyrule Field."

"_Fae, slow down, you're not making any sense."_

I shake my head. "Gibbs… I…" I take a deep breath. "I just wanted to hear something familiar, before…"

I hear him shifting, and someone talking on his side of the phone. _"Fae, what are you talking about?"_

"You've always said never to say sorry, that it's a sign of weakness. But I need you to know how sorry I am Gibbs… for everything. For the lying, the drinking, the hiding, the distance… everything." I have a feeling he's put me on speaker, and I don't care at all when I hear others moving around in the bullpen. "I've been lying to you from day one. Fae Ro isn't even my name, just an alias created by Jinks Senior after he kidnapped me as a baby. Just add a letter and move it around a little and you know exactly who I am."

I hold in a sob at the gasps on the other end. _"You're… you're __**Farore**__?"_ Tim asks in shock.

I give a little breathless laugh. "It feels good to tell someone before this happens."

Tony growls in the background. _"What's happening?"_

"This is goodbye guys. And thank you… for everything. I'm sorry I can't come back from this." I lift my wristband and end the call on their undecipherable protests.

* * *

No POV

"Link," Zelda breathes in relief as he pulls her from the vortex pulling at her magic. "What's happening?"

He stares in horror as old marks burn themselves into the grass around the furious duel between Ghirahim and Fae. "The seal… it's broken. The last Farore is free." He looks at Zelda to see her comprehension. "Your soul… your magic… that's why he wanted you. It was what locked her up before, and it could free her again."

Tears fill her brilliant blue eyes. "We have to kill him before he gains too much power."

A defeated shout of pain echoes across Hyrule Field as Ghirahim falls to his knees, black blood spilling from his lips and a stab wound in his stomach. He chuckles darkly as he meets their gaze. "It's too late. The chit may have kept her soul this time, but my work… is done. Now… you see what I have done to your missing Princess Farore."

He shoots a beam of red light at the unmasked and hoodless Fae, whose identity concealing contacts dissolve and the subtle dyes in her hair fade out, leaving a girl nearly identical to Zelda, Din, and Lanayru. "Farore…" Link gasps in shock, just as the ground quakes and splits down the center of the enormous seal, black fog spewing forth and cloaking the world in darkness.

_The fog clears to reveal the Spirit Realm Link is so familiar with, Hyrule Castle in the distance and the ground burnt with the runes of the circle thousands of years old. Two young girls stand in the middle, one huddled in the heart of the circle, sickly and weak; the other stands before her, strong and healthy, if sad._

"_Farore, I know you're tired and you're hurt, but you have to help us," the strong one whispers, kneeling and offering her small hand. "Please, I promise I won't leave you alone. We can end the cycle and sleep forever when it's over."_

_The weak Farore looks up with hope shining in her blue eyes. "I'll be free again?" she whispers, voice stronger than her appearance._

_Link can't help the little smile that twists his lips at the sight of the two interacting. "__**We**__ will be free. We can go back to the Lost Woods and play with Saria all day and explore the labyrinth all night if that's what you want. You can go home to the forest and wait if that's what you want."_

_She unwraps herself and takes the hand. "Help me?" she asks fearfully as red light wraps around their hands. _

"_Don't let go!" his daughter shouts over the wind, before looking at her father. "I'm sorry Dad. It's the only way." The strong one pales drastically and her eyes grow dull, even as the sickly one grows stronger and color flushes her skin once more, blue eyes growing brighter and green-tinted with the power building in her soul._

"_What's the only way?!" he shouts back, running towards them as darkness falls over the world once more._

The fog within his mind clears and his heart stops as Zelda screams in agony at the sight of their lifeless daughter sprawled on the ground, a pale and demonically glowing Farore standing over her corpse with a satisfied smirk.

The demon fixes its gaze on the parents and grins. "Well, well, haven't you two grown up since I last saw you," she, _it_, croons mockingly. "Parents once more, I see." It pointedly looks down at Farore, turning her face with a bare, grimy toe in disdain. "No matter the generation, you can't seem to keep any but your heirs alive. What a shame, her soul was delicious, one of the best offerings I've ever had the pleasure of consuming."

But then Link notices something strange with the eyes. They aren't fully red, like in the story, and they are filled with tears while laying fixed on the Master Sword in Link's hand. "She's gone Link," Zelda whispers tearfully.

He smiles softly at the demon. "No she isn't. She's waiting." The eyes glow brighter, green-tinted and weary, just like his dead daughter's eyes the longer he watches.

"For what? The world to burn?"

"For her freedom." He squeezes her right hand in his left before stepping forward, sword held aloft as he addresses the demon. "Farore, I know you're in there. I know he's strong, but you're stronger. We named you for the Goddess of Courage, my patron and yours. I can't beat Demise alone sweetheart."

Demise laughs, a cruel sound from a sick creature. "Your words fall on the wrong ears mortal!" He raises a blade, one that Link realizes is Ghirahim's true form. The stone on the crossguard, however, is dull and battered, a crack down the middle as it oozes black tar. Ghirahim is dead this time, and his corpse is just another fancy blade.

* * *

Link falls to his knees beside the cold body of his daughter, blood staining the master sword and his clothes, but he cares little for that as he pulls her into his arms, cradling Farore close. "Base, this is King Link. Do you copy?" he asks hoarsely, barely noticing the withering corpse just feet away, a body he only just a moment ago killed as both Farores suppressed the demon.

"_We copy your Majesty," _Agent Lori sighs in relief. _"Are you alright? What's happened?"_

A tear falls to Farore's cheek as he closes her eyes. "Queen Zelda is safe, the threat is neutralized… but we lost Farore."

She gasps in shock. _"The Princess? What happened?"_

"She was under our noses all this time, and we never realized it until… until…" he can't say the words, and they all understand what he can't say. He's lost his youngest, just when he was getting to know her.

The glowing golden Wolf approaches, appearing between one breath and the next to stand in front of the King. _"There is a way to bring her back,"_ he whispers. _"She refused to offer false hope, but I can offer you your child's life on behalf of the Goddesses. Repayment for suffering these many thousands of years to stop the demon time and again, but you must decide what you will do with this chance, young King. A life caging your daughter in a role she has run from all her life, or letting her go back to what she loves, or even letting her wait for you on the other side, but free of her curse no matter what."_

He looks at the body in his arms, unable to decide until Zelda's hand combs through the long blonde locks draped over his arm. "What would she have wanted?" she asks softly.

The Wolf shifts to appear as his Hylian self, a childish version of the warrior he once was and a mirror image of the King before him. _"She never expected to live this through Zelda. She never believed that the life of Royalty would be for her, and she never dared to hope you could accept her after her deceit. She must watch what you will do; accept her in life, or let her watch over you in death."_

Zelda blinks and wipes away her tears, only to find them replaced by more. "I want my baby back, even if she leaves us for her career. So long as she lives and can be happy."

She and Link trade teary looks before he nods in agreement. "I want the woman my daughter grew into, not one thing different."

* * *

Gibbs sits on the edge of the luxurious bed, reaching around the life sustaining equipment to hold the hand of the youngest member of his team. "You're an idiot kid," he murmurs, reaching with his other hand to run his fingers through her much lighter hair. "This is why you drink so much, isn't it?" He feels a tiny nod as her eyes flutter, and suppresses a smile when she cracks one eye open warily. "No more playing the martyr, or I'll headslap you into next year." She tries to smile around the feeding tube, but even he can see it turns into a grimace. "Let me get somebody to take care of that."

Half an hour later, she's hooked only to a minimum of the devices and cuddled up to him. "How mad are you really Gibbs?" she asks softly.

He drops a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm not angry anymore Fae. I'd probably have done the same thing you did if I were in your shoes."

"And Vance?" she asks worriedly.

Gibbs chuckles, glad to not be dealing with the paperwork their boss got stuck with. "Oh, he's pissed about the paperwork this landed him with. Its worse for human resources, they have no clue what to do now that you've announced yourself as Princess Farore."

She winces slightly at that information. "Do I still have a job to come back to?"

He looks down at her with a smile. "You're benched for a good long while."

* * *

Farore POV

I stare at my reflection as I carefully apply the dye to my hair, a watered-down brown that's already a mousy color so it won't darken my hair too much, but enough to change my appearance back to the way it was. But then, looking at my eyes, I realize it's the closest I'll ever get to my old identity. Nobody would ever think of selling me colored contact lenses now, and now that everyone knows who I really am, they'll know that I've altered my appearance.

Someone knocks on my door. "Farore?" Lanayru calls unsurely, and I can't help a small smile.

"In here," I call back, moving away from the mirror to open the bathroom door fully to look at my sister.

She blinks in astonishment. "What are you doing to your hair?"

I shrug with a small smile. "I'm too used to my hair being a different color. I don't even recognize myself in the mirror anymore without the dye or the contacts."

She sighs heavily. "Well, I guess it makes sense," she muses, shifting and I now notice she holds an expensive leather purse in her hands. "Um, Mom and Dad told Din and I that we needed to take you out to get a dress for tomorrow night, and something for your NCIS friends."

"What?" I ask quietly, hoping this isn't what I think it'll be.

She grins brightly. "Your welcome home gala is tomorrow."

Now I am very glad I only just finished putting in the dye. "Shit, shit, _shit!"_ I growl, climbing into the bathtub, fully clothed, and turn on the cold water, grabbing the shampoo blindly to try getting the dye out. "Why didn't someone tell me about this sooner?!" I ask her, knowing she's probably watching this all in shock.

My nails scrape harshly as I scrub at my hair furiously. "Someone should've told you last night." I rinse my hair and get more shampoo, uncaring that I'm shivering slightly or that my jeans and tank top are completely soaked. "Farore, it doesn't matter if you can't get the dye out."

"It does, because if anyone in jail figures out the person who helped put them there is a princess, and they have a grudge, they'll go after all of you," I inform her. "You remember when I was here last for court, right? When we kinda met?" She hums slightly, turning on the warmer water to warm me back up as I put my head under the water again. "Well, Jinks killed the Lieutenant because he was hoping to protect me, without knowing that I was a princess, or even an Agent. How many others do you think would be put in that position if my identities were made so public? Not to mention the terrorist cells we hunt down when we're not working on a normal investigation."

"Alright, I see your point," she admits, helping me to rinse out my hair now. "But still, the Guard knows how to protect us, and so does Dad."

I bite my tongue before I can criticize the Guard as harshly as I want to. "Still, I have a lot of enemies, and I'm not willing to bring so much attention to my blood if I can't absolutely help it."

* * *

I wander the floor aimlessly, trading careful greetings with the nobles trying to suck up to me. The off-duty Knights invited to the gala greet me warmly, and I even dance with a few of them in order to help them get away from girls hoping to catch their eye. They know it's nothing more than a dance with their princess and comrade, and they are somewhat helping me since I have so many young men eyeing me.

Gibbs catches me in time for a waltz, and I notice his emerald tie matches my gown, a floor-length halter with rhinestones cascading from just under my bust. "Having fun, Princess?" he teases, knowing better than to address me as Fae here because of our work.

I roll my eyes at him. "Counting down the minutes till midnight," I bite back, knowing that's the time when it's acceptable for me to leave. "How about you?"

He shrugs. "Vance hasn't stopped chewing me out about your identity crisis, but we've figured out a loophole for our countries. And before I forget, DiNozzo has a demand for you to dance the tango with him later."

I snort in amusement. "Hylians don't traditionally dance the tango Gibbs."

"You tell him that," he orders me.

I laugh quietly at that. "There might be folk dancing shortly, most of the nobles are going to clear off the dance floor for that, but its traditional that the Royal Family dances it with their friends and the Guard. I'll partner with him and Tim for that."

A throat clears behind me, and we pause, turning to find my father standing there. "May I cut in?" he asks Gibbs politely.

He passes me off with a small bow. "Your Majesty, your Highness," he mumbles, and I want to kick him for sticking with the formalities.

I take up my position and we fall back into the dance. "Your mother is not happy you aren't at least giving the nobles a chance to speak with you," he informs me.

I roll my eyes at that. "They're not my type," I mutter, glaring up at him warningly. "I can smell the ambition a mile off, and all they want is to get in my pants for the status."

He tries to hide his disgust at the truth. "Nevertheless, they're going to take it badly if the more powerful heirs, at the very least, don't get a dance."

"They need to grow up then. Everyone knows I'm going back to who I was before all of this, and they won't be able to handle that I've got more personal enemies than all of them combined." I meet his stern gaze for a long moment until he finally blinks. "I'm doing it to protect all of you, you need to understand that. If I publicly announce my former identity there'll be attacks all over the country that could have been prevented."

He sighs and squeezes my hand. "Just a single dance, you don't even have to talk to them. Please Farore, that's all we ask."

I smirk up at him. "What if I were to tell you they are all planning to go to the side room where they've got a dealer setting up a poker game and I go interact with them there?"

He groans in annoyance. "Tell me you're not serious about this?"

"Okay, I won't tell you," I tease him as the dance ends.

He leads me over to Mom, who frowns ever so slightly at me. "Alright, what mischief are you up to?" she asks in resignation.

I smirk at her. "I was thinking to crash the poker game in a few minutes instead of dancing with the Lordlings."

Unexpectedly, she smirks and takes my hand to wrap it around her elbow. "I believe that is a much better idea than dancing with many of the Lords. Are you any good?"

I try to restrain a cackle as Din and Lanayru wander over to join our conversation. "I've got a few Agents cursing my name from the last time we played, and a few Marines. Perhaps a few sailors as well, but definitely several lawyers."

"What's your secret?" Din asks brightly as Hylia offers me the spare glass of red wine she snatches from a passing servant.

I wink at her and take a sip. "Let's just say… there's more than one reason for so many to be cursing my name."

Dad suddenly grins. "Does it have anything to do with that case you told me about?" I look away innocently as I take another, healthy sip. "Does it Farore?"

"What case is this?" Hylia asks warily.

I sigh dramatically, earning a few giggles. "It was a human trafficking case when I was interning in the months before I turned nineteen, a case Gibbs' team was working on. Young Hylian girls were going missing, kidnapped, and I was the only candidate young enough to pull off an undercover role with Gibbs as the seller, so I was on loan to them for this. They knew that the girls were all drugged with some of the good stuff, so I got dressed up how they wanted with trackers and everything, before they left me alone in the Director's office for an hour and told to make sure I would fit the profile. I was… lets say tipsy when they got back to drag me out to get it started. It went well until it didn't… we got kidnapped, and things ended with me getting shot in the side and laid up at my apartment for a week." I'm going to spare them the gory details of how many people I killed by strangling the driver. "The hangover was almost not worth it, but we saved a dozen girls."

Din whistles lowly. "Baby sister got skills," she murmurs, impressed.

I grin at Dad then. "Oh yeah, some of that Dad taught me after I got away from Ordon with my adoptive mother when I was little." I cackle when he cringes at the look Mom gives him.

"You know I didn't know she was ours!" he protests when she smacks the back of his head. "I didn't even want to, but we needed the help!"

* * *

Hair finally dyed the exact shade everybody knows I wear my hair, I slip out of the castle unnoticed, wearing tightly fitted shorts and a tank top under my coat and thin-soled combat boots. The garage on the edge of Castle Town is abandoned, making it easier for me to take out my motorcycle, which Dad had Gibbs fetch after my temporary death, and gun it for Lake Hylia as night turns into day.

I pull up by the elevator, nodding politely to Zora Guard Rala waiting for me. "How's the situation with the Water Temple?" I ask wearily.

"Water lizalfos have been swimming up more regularly in the past few days, but they haven't been much trouble. We couldn't risk underwater combat without the aid of the Royal Family or yourself, Agent Ro, so we've been handling them as they swim ashore or with bombs," she informs me. "Agent Ro, does the King know you are here?"

I offer a smirk as we enter the elevator, rooting through my pockets for my goggles and the dragon scale that will allow me to breathe underwater, so long as it's in my mouth. "He's probably still hungover from last night's gala Rala. As it is, Director Vance and Agent Gibbs are in the control room waiting for me to contact them to get this party started."

The elevator stops, so we step out into a small armory filled with weapons suited for water combat. Harpoons, water bombs, propellers, climbing gear, ropes, and inflatables for a quick return to the surface. I make sure to grab extra harpoons and cartridges, along with a bow and large quiver of arrows, before looking at the specially made Zora blades, selecting an elegant trident and a spear to strap to my back before exiting to look at the infested waters, taking a waterproof communication set.

"Agent Ro to Headquarters, how's the connection?" I ask into the mouthpiece.

"_Hear you loud and clear Ro,"_ Vance answers easily. I can hear someone pouring a cup of coffee in the background. _"I'm going to let this be put on the record that I highly disapprove the decision to leave His Majesty out of this operation."_

I snort at that as I stalk to the shore of Lake Hylia. "Yeah, well that's just too bad. The advisors didn't like him getting hands-on with the mines as it was, and after finding the Princess they're going to be less likely to allow him out and about to kill monsters." I pull the pin on one of the water charges and toss it out to an approaching lizalfos, satisfied with the explosion and prevention of the attack. "We're going into the water, I'll be able to hear but not respond. Goggles activating, set up a scan just like with the mines."

"_Copy that, scan in progress, map loading and adjusting as the scans come through,"_ Tim murmurs, tapping away at screens and keys as he works. _"Tony's watching through the goggles to make sure you don't miss anything."_

"_Lizard incoming!" _Tony warns me as I begin my descent, already readying my harpoon. The creature doesn't stand a chance, so Rala and I continue to swim into the dark depths of the lake. _"Hey McGee, can you fix the camera so I can see better?"_ he asks, almost whining. I smile and switch on the flashlights on the weapons and goggles while Tim adjusts the goggles so we can all see through them better. _"Wow, why can't we get this for NCIS Director?"_

I try not to laugh as I remember the huge price tags for each item, after the conversion of rupees to dollars. _"One set of goggles is over a thousand dollars Agent DiNozzo, and the technology required to sync to these computers is beyond the budget."_

"_Ouch, that's not cool."_ I dodge around an upward current of warm water, finally down to the floor of the entrance to the Water Temple. _"Damn that's amazing. Like Atlantis or something."_

"_Ugly one o' clock," _Tony warns, just as Rala impales it with her spear. _"Hey, is the Temple gonna be flooded too? Won't you both need to worry about air?"_

I roll my eyes at the stupid question as numbers begin showing up in the display and the armband activates. _"The scans show the majority of the place is wet, but only a few places where Ro is going to have to worry about swimming,"_ Tim informs him. _"She also explained about that scale she took, she's got unlimited air as long as she keeps it in her mouth."_

I swim into the broken entrance and up, shooting another lizalfos before I break the surface and breathe stale air in a pitch-black chamber. "Looks like we're relying on the batteries for light," I mutter, finding a ledge and pulling myself out of the water. "Adjust for night vision, minimize lights to save the battery."

"_Done, and done," _Tim informs me as the lights dim, allowing the goggles to reset for a green-scale display. _"Infrared feature should be online anytime now. Those lizards were just below the water temperature, so look out for anything blue. Zora's are just below human temperature, so you don't need to worry about mistaking Rala for an enemy."_

"Good to know," I mutter to my companion, who snorts in amusement. I look down at my armband and wince slightly. "Guys, we've got a lot of company coming out of the central island of this place. Try sorting it out into numbers and find us a vantage point where we can use the bow and arrows to pick some of them off."

"_Already on it, just get there first. If you can't make it find another choke-point and hold them there until the numbers drop,"_ Gibbs orders us.

"That should be easy enough," Rala agrees, spear in hand and ready for a fight.

I draw my Sheikah blade with one hand and hold the trident in the other, adjusting it quickly so I can use it single-handedly. "Let's go," I whisper, barely able to be heard even to myself, and we pad forward silently.

* * *

No POV

Link rushes into the control room, paling at finding the screens filled with static and the Agents within frantically attempting to reestablish communication. "Tell me Fae didn't go to the Temple?" the hungover King breathes, forgetting his condition.

"Then I'm not saying it," Gibbs growls. "McGee, get those Zoras in the water and tell them to find Ro and Rala now!"

"They're moving in now Boss," Tim answers, typing commands into his station. "Damn you Ro, come on! Answer me! Can you hear me at all?"

"_This is Ruta, we're in the Temple now Agent McGee. There are bodies of the enemies within the entry way, but no further signs of Ro. Proceeding to the next chamber," _one of the Zora informs the room.

"How long has she been in there?" Link asks Vance.

The Director looks at the nearby clock. "Over twelve hours, we lost contact ten minutes ago without any sign of trouble on her end," he answers shortly. "What's the battery life on her equipment?"

"Barely over twelve hours, she's probably in the middle of something and hasn't realized she needs to change out the batteries on the communication set," Link mutters, biting his thumbnail worriedly.

A sharp gasp fills the room twenty minutes later. _"Rala!"_ Ruta cries. _"Base, Rala is injured but alive."_

"_Thank the goddesses! That crazy Hylian kept going without me and sent me back to get help!"_ Rala informs them, somewhat distantly as she tries to speak to both parties without having the microphone close to herself. _"Told me she was going to pick them off from above until backup could show up in the stairwell an hour ago. Said the batteries were dying and her backups got damaged."_

Link closes his eyes and bows his head, sighing heavily in relief. "Someone confirm Agent Ro is alright," he orders the backup team.

"_Mipha, Bando, continue on to the stairways and find Agent Ro. She's likely in trouble by now," _Ruta orders her teammates as a faint shriek is cut off abruptly. _"Please tell me that isn't a Hylian sound?"_ she almost begs.

"Lizalfos," Link answers instantly. "It means they've either turned on one another, or Ro is fending them off successfully."

Another hour passes, filled with lizalfos screaming war cries and several explosions, before they hear a familiar voice swearing passionately in the distance. _"That sounds like Agent Ro,"_ Mipha lightly jokes.

Link almost collapses in relief. "Get to her safely."

"_Copy that, Majesty."_

* * *

Link, Zelda, Hylia, Din, and Lanayru are waiting for her when she emerges from healing in the Spring of Wisdom, all of them in varying degrees of worry and anger.

She gives them a bemused look and an indulgent smile. "All was under control," she informs them calmly.

"You call that mess under control?" Link asks quietly, eyes narrowed at his wayward daughter and carefully noting the damage to her clothes. "You were outnumbered and lost communications!"

She doesn't even flinch. "Technical difficulties I've worked with before."

"Not to that degree," Zelda murmurs, disappointed. "I thought you knew to be more careful than this Fae." Even her mother had agreed that Farore was too much of a mouthful, and that her daughter preferred to go by Fae.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything." She squeezes out her long hair before twisting it up into a bun. "Besides, I knew what it would look like in the long run. We put off this mission too long, and I accounted for it by having the backup team prepare to come in when the batteries were due to be changed. It wouldn't have been a problem, I already knew good vantage points in every room I entered where I could hide in case of an emergency where I would need backup to bring me supplies."

Lanayru just sighs and hugs her sister. "Please don't do this to us again Fae," she whispers. "We're family, and we just got you back."

She hugs her slightly elder sister back. "I know, but this is my job. You can't expect me to settle for a desk job or fall back on the family after working for this all my life."

"_Listen to your kin Little Sprite," _an ethereal, hissing voice echoes from the cave, light flaring briefly. _"We are not yet ready for our Sprites to rejoin us. You have much yet to do in your life."_

Lanayru gasps in shock. "Was that…?" she breathes.

Fae looks over her shoulder with an amused smirk twisting her lips. "I've always been able to communicate with Faron and Ordona, and recently Eldin and Lanayru have been added to the list," she muses. "Maybe I'll meet the Great Fairy in the desert."

"_You shall do no such thing dearest,"_ Lanayru chuckles.

* * *

She shifts uncomfortably in her black gown and adjusts her matching black opera gloves once more. "I see no reason to go to this orchestra competition," she complains to Gibbs quietly as the limo parks before the theater.

He smirks at her, adjusting his tie ever so slightly before the door opens. "Orders, and apparently there is someone in the DC school the King has had contact with he wants you to meet."

The Royal Family, sans Farore dressed as Fae, steps out of the limo onto a plush red carpet, followed by Vance, Gibbs, Tony, Tim, then finally Fae. She stoically ignores the reporters attempting to ask her questions related to the hidden princess she supposedly found, her work at the Temples, and even what happened in Hyrule Field nearly a month ago.

"I hate orders," she mumbles to Gibbs when he makes her sit between himself and Tony, who looks nearly as uncomfortable as her. "I swear, if they attempt even one of Hyrule's songs and butcher it, you are going to have to keep me in my spot."

"You'll control yourself Ro," he orders her softly. "Only the winning party is going to play one of your lullabies."

She spares him a frosty glare. "You don't understand the power of our lullabies. Almost nobody does anymore, only the ones who can use magic understand their power over us. The Ballad of the Goddess is one of the most ancient ones, and it's not just a song – it's the prophecy of the first Link and Zelda that led to the Recolonization of the Surface that predated even them by over a thousand years!" she hisses as the lights die down. "It was meant to be played on a _harp,_ sung in an ancient dialect only the King and Queen have a _chance_ at speaking because of several hundred reincarnations!"

Tony now looks very worried. "Is that why every Hylian here is extremely… stiff?" he asks lowly.

"Yes. It's an insult to our kingdom that this decision was made without the permission of the Royal Family by the organizers of this competition," she clarifies. "The King and Queen were furious when they found out it was meant to be a tribute to the host country, and would've cancelled their attendance if it wouldn't disappoint the children performing here tonight."

"This is a hot mess," Vance groans, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "No wonder there were nearly riots when the performance information hit the public last month."

"If you thought the other countries had it bad, Hyrule was ten times worse than the worst anyone else had," Fae informs them distantly as the sweating coordinator nervously opens the performance for the first of ten schools.

* * *

The American-Hylian cellist curtsies deeply to the Royal Family, rising only to direct her unseeing gaze just above the King. "Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you tonight."

Link smiles kindly at her. "The pleasure is ours, Miss Lon. I would like to introduce you to a friend of my family, NCIS Special Agent Fae Ro," he introduces her, guiding her hand into Fae's easily.

"Good to meet you, Miss Lon," Fae murmurs, drawing the blind gaze directly into her own eyes.

Malon smiles slightly. "Your Spirit is free, Your Grace," she whispers.

Fae doesn't even blink. "You lost one sight and were granted another by the Light Spirits?" she asks softly, understanding that Malon must be seeing something nobody else can.

"The Spirits called to me when I was a little girl, maybe four or five. I lived in Kakariko then, and I was taken by a gang and beaten before they left me for dead at the edge of the Spring of Wisdom. Lanayru healed me the best she could while summoning her sisters to send help for me, but the blood and light in my eyes became too much. When I woke up, I was blind until I saw the auras of the healers, and the magic in the land itself." She smiles at Fae, who she knows isn't even slightly fazed. "But you already knew that, didn't you Sprite?" she asks. "You glow a soft green, burning away the last of a shadow. The same ones on the Royal Family," she muses.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't have needed to suffer to be granted your gift. I would've seen you born with your gift," she whispers softly. "But fate has never proved to be a kind mistress, only merciful in the end."

Malon squeezes the hand holding hers still. "You are kind, Your Grace, thank you. I need to get back to my conductor before he comes looking for me." Before she can make it three steps away, she looks over her shoulder towards them. "If we are to play again, we will not perform the Ballad… we will play the Requiem of Spirit instead. We never planned to follow along with the terrible idea that the coordinators gave us. China and Australia agree, and we're fairly sure most of Europe agrees."

During the performance given by the DC orchestra, Gibbs looks to his right to find Fae's eyes filled with tears, face twisted in remembered pain, and smiling brightly all at once.

* * *

Gibbs watches Fae carefully as she fills out more paperwork for the case they just wrapped up, her left arm in a sling and right eye swollen and black. Her right hand shakes as she puts down her pen and closes the file, and he can't help but think something is wrong.

He gets up and stands in front of her desk, drawing her attention. "Hey Gibbs," she murmurs hoarsely. She'd been screaming for half the afternoon, after all.

"How you holding up?" he asks, only now noticing how pale she is.

She gives him a clearly pained smile. "I feel like something a chuchu rejected." She pushes the file closer, so he picks it up and gives it a quick look, already knowing he won't have to make her redo it. "I already put in the doctor's assessment."

He stares down at her. "Are you going to make it home alright like this?"

She slowly shakes her head. "I was hoping I could ask someone to drive me for the next few days."

When he tucks her into her bed an hour later, he gives a heavy sigh, telling himself she'll be fine alone even as he settles down on her luxurious sofa.

* * *

Frowning at the open computer on the coffee table, Gibbs accepts the call from the castle, finding the Queen is calling Fae. _"Oh, Agent Gibbs," _she greets him, brow raised in question.

"Majesty," he greets with a nod. "Fae got a little beat up in our last case, I'm just here to keep an eye on her."

Blue eyes widen in shock. _"Is she alright? Should I send some potions or a fairy?"_

A crash from her bedroom startles Zelda. "OW FUCK!" Fae shouts, just as Gibbs hears her slipping on the wet tiles in her bathroom.

Zelda is taken aback at the language. _"FARORE HYRULE, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!"_ she shouts, suddenly aware of the fact that she is a mother and her child is using foul language.

A damp head peeks around the corner after a moment of silence, the corner of the living room shared with the bedroom where she can look at the computer. "Oh, hi there," she greets with a wince, deliberately hiding half of her face with the wall.

"_Don't you give me that, young lady. Why are you hiding?"_ Zelda demands hotly.

"_Somebody's in trouble~!"_ Lanayru laughs in the background.

Fae shuts her door with a roll of her eyes as Gibbs shakes his head. "Maybe send that fairy, whatever good that'll do."

Link comes up behind Zelda and nods respectfully at Gibbs. _"Agent Gibbs, I heard from Director Vance that there was a little bit of trouble with your last case?"_

"She was going to interview a family member that was being held hostage, she traded places to get her out of there," Gibbs answers, not going into further detail. "Was there any reason in particular for this call?"

"_As a matter of fact, there is. We've received a declaration of war from a tribe called the Yiga Clan, an offshoot of the Sheikah Tribe that turned against the Royal Family thousands of years ago. We're summoning all citizens within the military and government agencies capable of fighting, and Fae is… essential," _Zelda informs him, grimacing in distaste. _"We tried to dissuade our advisors of the notion, but the morale of the soldiers within our borders is low without her presence. She's a known power and a deadly opponent in combat. We need her."_

Fae steps out of her bedroom quietly, eyes closed in dread. "Nothing can be done against this demand? I have to return?"

Link nods in answer. _"I wish it wasn't like this, but they are demanding that you reveal your identity to our army and that you permanently return to Hyrule, willingly or not."_

"I understand," she answers softly, swallowing painfully. "I'll… I'll handle everything here, be there in a week or two. Has Ambassador Bo begun making arrangements for our soldiers in the other countries?"

"_Yes, the American President is currently in conference with Bo. You are very likely to be summoned to speak at a press conference before you hand in your resignation to address your people. The dual citizens will listen to you should you call them, more than they'll listen to us."_

* * *

Gibbs stands in front of her empty desk the next Monday, staring at the place he'd gotten so used to her presence. Tim and Tony stare at her empty desk as well, distracted by the sudden absence of their youngest team member after that disturbing press conference just the afternoon before, broadcasted on every frequency all over the planet as she called every Hylian to arms against the most ancient of their enemies. It was a mass exodus of their sub-population from this dimension back to their own, and the beginning of civilians being evacuated from the Lanayru Province to Faron, Ordon, and Earth.

"Is it just me, or does all of this seem… wrong?" Tony asks quietly, staring at the picture of their team together from the night of the orchestral competition.

* * *

Chills run down their spines as they watch the funerals for King Link and Queen Zelda, taken by a sudden illness just as their predecessors had been in the times just before the darkest of Hyrule's history. The coronation of Hylia is a somber affair, but it raises the spirits of their people when the four sisters glow with the power of their namesakes at the end of the prayer, the four Light Spirits gathering and bowing before them a spectacle never seen before on the mortal plane.

But the formerly sky blue eyes turn gold before everything changes.

* * *

The first of the battlefield recordings is horrifying even to the strongest men when it leaks to Earth at last, a month after the first battle had taken place. It was warfare as it had never been seen before, vengeful Goddesses protecting the faithful and punishing the faithless. Gibbs can see the parallels in their own history, when Moses freed the slaves and parted the Red Sea in the bible.

Farore, exposed as the Princess she always was, is on the front lines, glowing with power and dressed in the traditional garb of the Hero, as she now represents both her namesake as the new Champion and her family as their new Hero, partnered with the Master Sword on her back. She leads the Hylian soldiers on the ground in ancient warfare against the battalions of monsters attempting to lay siege to Hyrule from their base in the Gerudo Desert, having chased the Gerudo from their lands and into the Hylian armies.

Din leads the Gorons and Gerudo alongside her youngest sister, using her power to fly above them all and direct her fury as waves of magic through the sands to tear through their adversaries as the Gorons roll through them, the Gerudo gutting everything that dared to take over their desert.

Lanayru is hidden from the warfare, leading the healing with the Zora and planning efforts from behind her sisters with Hylia, who manages their resources and the continued evacuations of the regions next to be affected by the Yiga.

The sisters on the battlefield are stained with the black blood of the monsters they slay, painted with the red blood of the Yiga. Their soldiers are no better, but their eyes are hard and determined behind the masks they wear to shield their faces.

* * *

Two years later, Farore and Din address the Earth once more, still in their battle gear of black leather pants and cropped tops so like what the Princess of Blood had been so famous for wearing. Their hair is pulled back in the fashion of the Gerudo, hair tied into little braids with ribbons in their respective colors woven throughout. They even have war paint still staining the skin of their cheeks, arms, and their leg. Their eyes still glow gold, just as their sisters' eyes do, when they address the world.

"_The traitorous Yiga Clan are no more, and their Master Ganondorf will never rise again. The cycle of Hyrule's horrors has ended, and our country is once more at peace,"_ Hylia informs them, wearing a simple white gown and her crown of white gold and diamonds.

Lanayru, wearing a long blue silk gown and silver tiara with sapphires, steps up next to her eldest sister. _"The Hylians we evacuated are free to return, if that is what they wish. We do not demand your return, but we welcome those who still call Hyrule home. To those warriors we called upon, we thank you for your sacrifice, and praise the fallen for protecting this blessed land."_

Farore steps up, her crown one carved of wood and inlaid with emeralds and woven with leaves_. "We can never thank those who took in our refugees enough for protecting those we could not. Hyrule can only offer its eternal gratitude to our Allies on Earth, for taking in our people and allowing us to so suddenly recall our soldiers from their posts within your military."_

Din smiles softly into the camera. _"Tomorrow, the portal between our realms will reopen, and travel between Hyrule and Earth may once more proceed. We hope that this war has not driven our people to fear the way it used to do to our ancestors." _She trades what Gibbs knows to be a significant look with her three sisters before returning her focus to the camera. _"Farore, Lanayru, and myself have all decided that, because of the trouble we have wrought on this world, that we shall step down from our positions of power, giving up all claims to our royal heritage, and protect the lands entrusted to us by the Goddesses for whom we were named."_

* * *

Gibbs, Tim, and Tony are on the first train to Hyrule, finding no trace of their former coworker like they'd been hoping to when they make their way out of the station to Ordon Spring.

Ilia finds them there, staring at the peaceful Spring. "She's not here, guys," she informs them softly, smiling sadly. "The lore has Faron Province as her territory, with Faron the Light Spirit. She's likely behind the wall and beyond our reach since the wall has been sealed. That's where her temple is, after all."

Tim eyes the woman hopefully. "Which one? The Forest Temple or the Temple of Time?" he asks quickly, knowing it'll be nearly impossible to access her at the Temple of Time.

She sighs heavily. "Oh, you poor boys. She's likely sealed herself within whichever one she's chosen, just as Din and Lanayru will have done within their strongholds. Only an act of bravery or extreme stupidity would gain you an audience with the Princesses. I am sorry, but she is nothing like the girl you knew. The war and the power she accepted to win the battle changed her completely."

A child's laughter draws Gibb's attention to the waterfall far above the Spring. A ghost of a young Fae in her full war regalia falls into the upper bank before their eyes, kneeling in the water and grinning at them brightly. Her cheeks are chubby and rosy with life, even in death, and she has the puppy fat of a child just as she should have when she was a child both times around.

"Fae," Gibbs mumbles softly, wading into the water.

She rises and struts up to the ledge, jumping down into the lower bank with impossible grace. _"You know I'm not really here. You'll have to follow me home if you want to see me properly,"_ she playfully chides him, still grinning even as she wags her finger at him like he's a naughty child.

"You're in the Forest Temple or the Lost Woods, and one of them we can't access."

The grin fades as she shakes her head, smiling now. _"I see nobody tried to get into Faron Province the way I always went. I'll show you the way if you want to find me."_ She fades away with one last watery smile.

* * *

She's waiting when they arrive at Faron Spring, dancing over the water as golden light ripples over the surface of the water. She looks up to find them all standing at attention, Hylia standing behind them. _"Well, well, if it isn't my sister. Here to make sure I take care of my old friends?" _she teases.

Hylia sighs. "I wish your spirit form was not a little brat, Farore."

She tsks at the Queen. _"I've always been a brat, you know that. Why else would we have entrusted you to take care of our land while we remember our true selves?"_

"Are you going to bring these men to your home or not, Farore?" she demands.

The playful persona falls away to reveal a slighted Goddess, who grows from an innocent child to a vengeful woman. _"Remember your place, Hylia. Remember who failed in such a simple task as containing Demise, a simple ritual that you refused to complete and used MY champion to become the sole deity of my creations." _To their shock, Hylia is forced to her knees. _"Remember it was you who damned us all into the mortal reincarnation cycle and sealed the three of us away for so long. You are lucky we allowed you to live for what you have done, even as a mortal, for all that we have bound your soul to damnation upon your final death."_ She sneers at the young queen, quivering on her knees. _"Get up. You'd think I was Din in a rage."_ Farore's attention returns to the shocked men before her, her expression softening upon noticing the tension in her three friends. _"Come, my friends. There is a place I wish to show you, if you still wish to follow me one last time."_

* * *

Farore looks down from her seat on the windowsill in the restored Temple of Time when they stumble through the Time Gate before her. "Well, I see you've chosen to follow me home," she calls with a small smile, jumping down to the floor to greet them with a warm hug each.

"You're… you," Tony murmurs, frowning in confusion.

She nods with a sigh. "Yeah… you see, that door you walked through, to get here? Did you notice something odd about the similarities between this room and the courtyard below the doorway?"

Gibbs inspects the room more carefully, noticing that the Master Sword is placed in the same spot in this room as in the courtyard, and the ruins around it match the perfect walls around them now. "We're in the past," he states surely.

She nods, leading them down the steps to sit down more comfortably. "We are, by several thousand years. Long before even the era of the Hero of Twilight, and the Hero of Time. The closest estimation I can give you is about two thousand years after the return to the Surface, which has recently been renamed Hyrule," she informs them, scoffing at the name. "Stupid Hylia, claiming everything we created just because we asked her to do one job when we returned to the Sacred Realm. A job she couldn't even perform properly."

"Sensing a major history lesson here," Tony hints, hoping to hear a bit more about why she's so bitter.

She huffs humorlessly. "What's the point, nobody will believe a human claiming to have spoken to one of the Goddesses of this realm." However, she snaps her fingers to produce a large tome, which she hands to Tim. "You can read the true history of this world in there. The gist of it is that Hylia was a lower Goddess we entrusted with the care of the TriForce millions of years ago while we attended to business in the Sacred Realm. She was jealous of us, the first of our kind, and she adored the land and people we created. She descended to _our_ realm and spoke of creation, as though she'd been the one to create everything and we'd assisted by giving her the power boost to do it. Hylia claimed the people to be Hylians, the land her own as Hylia's Realm, and with that, she locked us out of our creation as little more than Sprites. She made the Light Spirits to give us some access to this land by using the TriForce we'd asked her to protect, but we were helpless under her wish to be anything more. But then, when she created Skyloft a few thousand years later to get out of marrying Demise, she lost her full control over us. We had to enter the mortal reincarnation cycle to escape the Sacred Realm, scattering our powers and memories for our reincarnations to find and claim." She looks to the side as if ashamed. "It took us too long to manipulate Hylia's precious mortal incarnation of Zelda to produce more than a single child, then Ghirahim came along and added to her curse and made me kill their last incarnations by helping Demise possess me. Half of myself got sealed away with him the last time I was born, which I got back when the Hero of Time represented the Ancient Deities that sired us in bringing me back to life without the curse. When that happened, I knew it was a matter of time before Hylia's spirit would transfer from Zelda to my sister, and I began to suspect something was up beyond just a simple reincarnation cycle. Poor, stupid Hylia never realized that we didn't just accept those powers to win the war, we opened ourselves up to the powers that she'd put a sloppy seal on and awoken as our true selves. We returned the favor of a curse on her."

"What did you do, exactly?" Gibbs asks, noticing the malicious smirk.

The grin full of teeth does nothing to alleviate any concerns. "She is bound to our Will, and will be the end of her precious Royal Family. She has no idea that we've begun to take back our realm, even though we gave her the illusion of full power over this land. She will never bear a child, will never marry, and will never make home it to the Sacred Realm. She will suffer for the millennia of suffering we were forced to endure and for stealing what was ours. She damned our precious magicians to servitude and the Twilight Realm as evil when they refused to bow down."

"Harsh," Tony whistles.

She rolls her eyes at him. "She always lived in the lap of luxury, was a spoiled little bitch who got whatever she wanted until our sires said no when she wanted our creation. So she went and took it after we extended an olive branch. Hylia will get what she deserves and more for betraying us. She likely will be wiped from existence as we destroy her entire faith and restore ours."

Gibbs shakes his head with a huff. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"In this case three," Farore agrees, drawing her Sheikah blade to trace her delicate fingers over the razor-sharp edge. "You know, there is something I am rather curious over." She looks between the three of them. "Why would you come to me again, after all the lies and the betrayal?"

"You're family," Tim answers, as though she should have realized that already.

"Really, did you think we'd hate you Fae?" Tony asks in a similar tone. "You had it rough, probably worse than your sisters in the last life especially."

She looks to Gibbs for his answer, somewhat warily. "Kid… you're like the daughter I wish Kelly could have had as a sister."

She smiles, somewhat brokenly as tears fill her eyes. "Thank you, all of you… you have no idea what that means to me." She looks up at the window. "It's getting late. You should get back to Ordon soon." She rises as the men do, feeling lighter than she has in a long time. "When you step outside, close your eyes, and when you open them again, you will be at Faron Spring… and you must never come back to this side of the wall. It was sealed for a reason."

* * *

**Wow, I've been working on this monster for months since I first came up with the idea of triplets as a result of the ZeLink ship, with the addition of a kid they name Hylia as a tribute to the original Goddess as we saw it in Skyward Sword. I did not see myself turning this into a Hylia bashing story, but... well, it happened when I thought about what the hell could have happened when the original storyline tells us that the three Goddesses Farore, Nayru, and Eldin created Hyrule from the story in Ocarina of Time, but then how did they all get the names Hylians and Hyrule? Trace that back to Hylia being entrusted with protecting the TriForce, and boom. Hylia bashing and pissed off older sisters. I mean, how would older sisters feel if their little sister took the credit for their hard work when she was asked to protect something while they looked away for a little while. And why else would these three have stayed away from their world if they weren't kept away?**

**Just a random idea on what could have happened to the three Goddesses and how it could have gone down if those three managed to regain their full power the way Hylia never could.**

**I don't own anything. Reviews are welcome, flames will be deleted if they aren't at least constructive, and if you can convince me with enough demands then I may do significantly shorter sequel chapters in the future that will be attached to this story. No promises though, I've been distracted enough with school and dozens of other stories that keep popping into my head and too many incomplete stories idling here.**

**Sorry this isn't an update on my other stories, I'm kinda stumped on most of those.**


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